The movie
The Courier
Set in the early 1960s and harking back to classical espionage thrillers of old, Dominic Cooke’s taut drama hinges on a beautifully modulated performance by Benedict Cumberbatch.
Length: 111 min
Country: United States
Language spoken: English
Language subtitles: Dutch
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel Brosnahan, Merab Ninidze, Jessie Buckley
Director: Dominic Cooke
Release date: 09/09/2021
Description
Set in the early 1960s and harking back to classical espionage thrillers of old, Dominic Cooke’s taut drama hinges on a beautifully modulated performance by Benedict Cumberbatch as British businessman Greville Wynne, the real-life character recruited by British and American intelligence to befriend and work with Russian colonel Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze). The latter is convinced that Nikita Khrushchev’s (Vladimir Chuprikov) threats of nuclear war are very real, indeed. What unfolds as the friendship between Wynne and Penkovsky blossoms and the stakes get higher and higher is perhaps not what you’d expect…
‘Benedict Cumberbatch delivers an appealing, technically tricky performance in “The Courier”… [The film] makes a smart, stylish stand for the kind of old-fashioned period spy thriller that is increasingly being turned into bingeable series for streaming services. Its modesty and carefully managed ambitions define its strong suit at a time when such films are scarcer every day.’—Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
‘Benedict Cumberbatch delivers an appealing, technically tricky performance in “The Courier”… [The film] makes a smart, stylish stand for the kind of old-fashioned period spy thriller that is increasingly being turned into bingeable series for streaming services. Its modesty and carefully managed ambitions define its strong suit at a time when such films are scarcer every day.’—Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
