British colonists before the revolt
The opening credits for the Amazon Prime British import “The Last Post” appear against a backdrop of black-and-white newsreel footage extolling the relationship between the British and residents of the port of Aden, on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. It is, says a plummy-voiced newsreel narrator without the slightest trace of irony, a model of colonial rule.
There was a time when even American schoolchildren were taught the supposed benefits of colonization, as so-called civilized nations, like the United Kingdom, brought enlightenment, economic support and Christianity to Third World nations.
We know better today, of course. We know how colonialization had a destructive influence on the culture and people of the colonies and protectorates. And it is that awareness that adds important context to the six-episode series created by Peter Moffat (“The Night Of ” and its progenitor, “Criminal Justice”) and available on Amazon on Friday, Dec. 22.
Based in part on Moffat’s childhood memories, when his father was stationed in Aden as a member of the Royal Military Police, “Last Post” is set
in the early 1960s and focuses on the events leading up to the revolt known as the Aden Emergency, leading to an end to British rule, which had been in place since 1839.
The series attempts to work on several levels, focusing on the RMP unit at the moment when a veteran officer ( Joseph Kennedy) is leaving the post as his replacement, Joe Martin ( Jeremy Neumark Jones) arrives with his new bride, Honor ( Jessie Buckley). The Martins’ neighbor, Alison Laithwaite ( Jessica Raine) is especially upset at the officer’s departure because she’s been having an affair with him. Her husband, Ed (Stephen Campbell Moore), is rather acquiescent to her drunken bad behavior, which only erodes what little respect Alison has for him — especially since he’s been passed over for promotion.
For much of the time in the three episodes made available to critics, the series’ primary focus is on the personal lives of the men and their wives as they seek to create an unlikely replica of British life that includes a seaside club where locals are employed as servants. The British go about their business with few actual interpersonal relationships with the locals, including Yusra Saeed (Ouidad Elma), who works as a nanny for the base commander and his wife, Harry and Mary Markham (Ben Miles and Amanda Drew). Of course, what can only be viewed as entitlement, fueled by lack of knowledge and respect for the culture of what will become Yemen, is fueling resentment and hatred that will lead to revolt.
“The Last Post” trades too heavily on cliches in character development, but benefits from strong performances, especially by Raine, Buckley, Elma and Neumark Jones. Inevitably, we see the tragic parallels in the unrest in the early ’60s and terrorism by the Islamic State and al Qaeda in more recent times. And we understand that contemporary terrorism is rooted in exploitation of the Middle East, either through direct colonization or economic and military pressure. That’s rather why the series is engaging without ever becoming seriously thought provoking. All told, it’s a missed opportunity, but buoyed by our considerations of what could have been.