The Courier 2021

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helenecolin
You Only Live Twice
You Only Live Twice
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The Courier 2021

#1 Post by helenecolin » Tue Jun 01, 2021 3:55 pm

I was lucky enough to see this movie in April through a friend who received an online press screening code (she was allowed 3 viewings, so she gave me one), and I must admit I was very impressed by this movie.

The Courier tells the true story of an ordinary businessman, Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch), who finds himself at the centre of a risky operation involving the CIA, the MI6 and their Russian source, Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze). This true story is readily available online if you want to look it up, but I'm not going to say too much in case you wish to know as little as possible before watching this adaptation.

However, I wish to point out the amazing performances of Cumberbatch and Ninidze, who are truly capturing our attention from start to finish. There’s no denying how tense you feel as an audience member while watching them navigate between the constant monitoring of the Russian secret services and their newly formed partnership in order to smuggle intelligence to the Western side. The Cold War is raging between West and East, and by the end of the movie you realise how much this unlikely partnership counts for each of them.

That’s where great casting comes into play, as between Cumberbatch and Ninidze, you honestly believe in what you are witnessing. You do not just feel the fear and pressure called on by these events, you also feel the pain and the despair of what their characters are going through. Cumberbatch is definitely pulling every trick he has up his sleeves, becoming Greville Wynne and playing his part until the very last second without ever leaving us wanting. Rachel Brosnahan portrays with panache the strong and ever determined CIA agent (plus it’s always a pleasure to see “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” on screen), while Angus Wright is the perfect embodiment of the always proper MI6 agent. And of course, a big round of applause goes to Jessie Buckley, who plays Cumberbatch’s wife so beautifully you can only imagine what it was like for Wynne’s real wife, and how strong she must have been to go through everything that happened in the end without ever giving up.

I'm unsure if we will get a cinema release of this movie here in the UK, but it's on several on demand platforms...

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