The Courier Movie Review: A fairly well-knit spy thriller

It’s based on a real-life event about a high-placed Russian with classified information assuring Western intelligence that the only way to get them data was through an ordinary man with no government affiliation.

The Courier
PG-13; Historical Drama
Director: Dominic Cooke
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze
Rating: ***

Dominic Cooke’s crisis drama scripted by Tom O’Connor is fashioned around a Cold War spy (special recruit) Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his Russian source, who try to put an end to the Cuban Missile crisis. It’s based on a real-life event about a high-placed Russian with classified information assuring Western intelligence that the only way to get them data was through an ordinary man with no government affiliation.

There’s plenty of heart-in-the-mouth moments as CIA agent Emily Donovan (Rachel Brosnahan) reaches out to M16 to find a man to anonymously make contact with Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), a military intelligence colonel. The film opens in 1960 to Nikita Krushchev’s promise to “bury” the USSR’s enemies. For Penkovsky, the only way to prevent a catastrophe was by reaching out to the CIA. Wynne, who is persuaded to believe he’s just making exploratory sales trips to Russia, is befriended by Penkovsky, and is initiated into Russian culture. A large part of the narrative focuses around Wynne’s transformation.

Watch the trailer of The Courier

A solid spy drama with layering to whet the appetite for thrills, this film starts off on a rush with montages, music and action while dialogues play on — setting the tone for some choreographed excitement. Towards the climax, the pace slows down and the thrill-heavy moments become spare. Cumberbatch’s ability to play ordinary even when involved in an extraordinary events is impeccable. Merab Ninidze puts on an imminently believable brave face for World Peace. Editors Tariq Anwar and Gareth C Scales do a fair job, Sean Bobbitt’s cinematography adds weight to the intrigue while composer Abel Korzeniowski’s orchestrations keep the tenor loaded and ready to fire. This may not be the best thriller ever to hit the screens, but it certainly has enough intrigue and thrills to keep you engrossed.

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