Ironbark

It was the early 1960s, the USA and Russia were in a race to amass nuclear weapons. It was to the point that if both of them did a maximum launch at each other it would destroy most of the world as we knew it. In truth they wanted to bury each other.

In October 1962 I was a senior in high school and that is the month of an event that came to be called the Cuban missile crisis. Russia decided to move nuclear missiles to Cuba, just a few miles off the coast of the USA. There was nothing favorable about that move. The still new US President JFK had a tough decision, how to confront Russia and get them to reverse their plans. As history witnessed Russia backed off.

That is a central theme in the story here, based on real people and real events. An English businessman was convinced to expand his business dealings to Russia, there he would befriend a Russian who would pass him photographic microfilm. He became the courier. A main topic were the plans to place the missiles in Cuba. This spy work was what tipped England and the USA off to the Russian plans and allowed them to monitor the situation which eventually resulted in the confrontation to get Russian ships to turn back.

This is a very good movie, well-acted and well-told. My wife and watched it streaming on Amazon.

Edit July 2023: Watching it again, it is such a well-made and well-acted movie you can watch it every year or two and still enjoy it as much as the first time.

The Courier (2020) is an English movie directed by Dominic Cooke. The film takes place during the height of the Cold War.

It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Greville Wynne, a middle-class mid-level British business man. Oleg Penkovsky, portrayed by Mereb Ninindze, is a high-ranking Soviet official who knows that there's a real chance of nuclear war.

British intelligence recruits Wynne to make a connection with Penkovsky. His job will be to bring back important information that will help the western powers. Rachel Brosnahan portrays a U. S. CIA agent who is working with British intelligence.

The film succeeds or fails on the work of Cumberbatch. He's a superb actor, and the movie falls into place on the basis of his acting. (In fairness, he's such a competent actor that I had a little trouble accepting him as a less-than-competent businessman.) Ninindze does good work, but I had trouble accepting Brosnahan as a CIA agent. (Mrs. Maisel, yes. CIA, no.) For the record, I also had trouble with the basic assumption that the CIA agents were the good guys.

This movie provides an intense, claustrophobic experience. It's very well done, but at the other end of the spectrum from James Bond spy movies. We saw this film on the small screen, where it worked well. It has a barely adequate IMDb rating of 7.1. I thought that it was better than that, and rated it 8.

A surprisingly good watch, with it being nice to see Mr Cumberbatch in a role that isn't a Marvel green screen epic.

I recommend this film.

It's 1960 and the Cold War is heating up. High level Soviet official Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) is concerned. He risks everything to contact the West. CIA agent (Rachel Brosnahan) suggests using an amateur as a conduit. They recruit everyday salesman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) who has done some business behind the Iron Curtain.

This is an old fashion espionage thriller. It's heightened by its true story nature and the two lead performers. Greville's regular everyday-man character is very compelling. The two men's friendship is very interesting. It may not be something new but it is very well-done. The last part is a little flat but that has to do with its true story nature. This is a throwback in the best sense.

One of Benedict Cumberbatch's best performances to date, which makes it one of the greatest acting performances period. His startling physical transformations, spot-on dialogue delivery, and appropriately subtle and highly-effective character manifestations (he's a spy not a Hollywood super-hero for those hung up on the film not emulating Bond or Bourne "big moment" scenes), are all testimony to his commitment to the acting craft. He once again proves why he is (simply-put) one of this era's greatest actors.

This role should garner award nominations across the spectrum of such ceremonies for Benedict.

The Courier is well above average as espionage films go - subtle pacing actually magnifies tension in the story - the most elemental fuel for any thriller.

No spy film is better at emotionally connecting the viewer with the lead character - painting an accurate portrayal of both a spy's methodology, and the inevitable inner conflicts and angst involved in the job, and in one's personal life. This unique trait elevates the film.

The Director maintains a refreshingly low-key atmosphere in scenes, befitting the "trade-craft" of espionage that thrives on innocuous and concealing behavior (rather than the overly dramatic big moments too often leaned upon in blockbuster spy films). None of that nonsense would actually occur as spies would bring too much attention to themselves - a sure way of having a short career and brief lifespan.

This is a spotlight film role carried by Benedict, but a film of this immense achievement does not occur without similarly great performances by the supporting cast.

Merab Ninidze hits one over the Berlin Wall and deserves recognition for his remarkable supporting role performance.

Rachel Brosnahan was spot-on as well, and is clearly on a roll after her deserved critical praise for 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'.

Tom O'Conner's screenplay is brilliant as is Dominic Cooke's directing, and Gareth Scales' editing which somehow brings this fascinating true story to film in under two hours.

The Courier has me once again ('Spotlight' being the first in 2015) breaking my long standing rule of not putting a film on the Top 100 All Time Greatest list within a year of its release. I often view better films multiple times over the long haul. Some hold up; some gain respect; and some regress. I'm anticipating The Courier will not lose ground over time, and may gain, but we shall see.

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