A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Courier” (2021).
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
It’s not to be confused with the Olga Kurylenko / Gary Oldman 2019 movie of the same title. But with a fresh Berlin current-day Russian spy scandal in the news this week, seeing the cold war spy drama “The Courier” is a timely thing to do.
Just any old business meeting between Penkovshy and Wynne. (Source: FilmNation Entertainment).
Plot Summary:
It’s 1960 and America and Russia are locked in an ever-escalating nuclear race in the run-up to the Cuban missile crisis. Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) is an unprepossessing middle-aged salesman who does business in Eastern Europe. He’s recruited by agents from MI6 (Angus Wright) and the CIA (Rachel Brosnahan) as a courier to pass messages to and from Russian general Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze).
But as the international pressure grows, so does the pressure on Wynne to do more and more to support the cause. This also puts intolerable pressure on his strained marriage to Sheila (Jessie Buckley) who, through necessity, must know nothing of the real nature of his affairs.
Cumberbatch and Buckley. Great acting from both, but I thought Buckley miscast. (Source: FilmNation Entertainment).
Certification:
UK: 12A.
US: PG-13.
Talent:
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze, Jessie Buckley, Rachel Brosnahan, Angus Wright.
Directed by: Dominic Cooke.
Written by: Tom O’Connor.
“Did you fart?”. “No, did you?”. Brosnahan and Cumberbatch exchange glances. (Source: FilmNation Entertainment).
“The Courier” Review:
Positives:
- Benedict Cumberbatch is outstandingly good in this. He could have been born to play the slightly bemused English gentlemen of the time. All golf, tweed suits and gentlemen’s clubs. No spoilers, but there is a physical transformation as well that’s impressive to observe. The film would have been decidedly so-so I think without that core central performance.
- The film is based on a true story. As someone who was born in 1961, it’s a good reminder to count our blessings that you, me and everyone else are still around to live our lives at all. The world was on the brink of a precipice and learning the story of Wynne’s part in this was insightful history.
- There’s a nice catchy Russian-themed score by Abel Korzeniowski.
The tense moment when you see your bags on a luggage cart heading towards a different plane! (Should that extra really have been looking right into the camera!). (Source: FilmNation Entertainment).
Negatives:
- I’m a big fan of Jessie Buckley. Really, I am. And to be fair to her, her performance is really good. I particularly liked a scene where she dismissed on the doorstep a local busybody. But I just didn’t see her as Wynne’s pearl-neckless-wearing wife in this part. Perhaps the problem is that although there’s a 13 year age gap between the leads, I always imagine Buckley as being much younger that her 31 years. For whatever reason, the casting didn’t work for me. (As counter to that, the illustrious Mrs Movie Man didn’t find this a problem).
Before my time… just! A nicely evoked London of the early 60’s. (Source: FilmNation Entertainment).
Summary Thoughts on “The Courier”
As a true-life spy story, the movie is interesting and Cumberbatch’s performance is brilliant. But I can’t say that I was 100% grabbed by it. While having a few moments of high drama and tension – particularly one on a plane – I never felt that to be maintained for enough of the movie. Director Dominic Cooke has a limited filmography (with the Saoirse Ronan movie “On Chesil Beach” being his only other feature) and writer Tom O’Connor is the guy behind the more flippant “Hitman’s Bodyguard” films. Perhaps a more experienced writer/director team would have elevated this to a higher level.
So it’s eminently watchable but not memorable. Just a marginal hit in my book.
Trailer:
The trailer for “The Courier” is here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJZPMFenkT4.
