Ironbark

We need more movies like this. If you enjoy movies that teach history with good acting and are clean without all the typical Hollywood garbage then this movie is for you. Terrific movie!

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.

As for me, the most important reference point for watching films is the cast. If I see interesting actors who select roles wisely and don't star in anything, it means that the novelties with their participation are mandatory to see. And since Benedict Cumberbatch starred in "Spy Games", such a movie can't be missed.

The storyline takes us back to the early 60s. The businessman Greville Wynne becomes a spy in the service of Her Majesty. While in Moscow, Neville gets instructions from a Russian colonel who has decided to go over to England's side, and who would have thought that very soon the stakes in the espionage game would become extremely high. The lives of millions of innocent people around the planet will depend on them.

Benedict Cumberbatch's performance is as good as ever. Once again I am convinced that he is one of the best actors of his generation and I can't remember a single bad film with his participation. And as for "The Courier", Cumberbatch drastically differs from Sherlock or Doctor Strange. He doesn't play a superhuman, capable of anything, but at the same time he bestows us strong emotions and we really worry about his hero.

In general, the film's worth seeing to understand its full dramatic and historical depth. The shot is interesting, there are no unnecessary moments, everything is in essence. These are the kind of films you need to watch and discuss!

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.

👍👍

Real life stories can be tricky. In the horror genre they can fail miserably ... in the War scenarios or spy and real people stories, it does look differently though. Like with this one. And while I reckon one could argue that side characters feel shallow or one dimensional (the wives for example), I'd argue there is not enough time to get and have everyone have their moment.

Still the British wife we have here, does have some zingers and you can really feel her pain and understand her anxiety over all that is happening. Even if she has the wrong idea of what is going on. Having said all that, the actors are fantastic and the tension is really holding up throughout ... you may know where this is going (and what happened with Cuba and the missilie crisis), but it won't take anything away from what we see on screen.