The Courier

I saw The Courier at the Sundance Film Festival last year (although when I saw it the name was Ironbark in reference to the code name used by the Soviet agent) and I really enjoyed this taut and suspenseful spy thriller so I decided to see it again last night.  Tensions are escalating between the United States and the Soviet Union over the build up of nuclear weapons.  Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), a high-ranking science officer in the Soviet government, believes that Khrushchev is erratic and looking for any excuse to go to war with the U.S. so he goes to great lengths to contact the West about providing secret intelligence.  Because Penkovsky is so prominent, Emily Donovan (Rachel Brosnahan) of the CIA and Dickie Franks (Angus Wright) of MI-6 don't want to compromise him by using known agents.  They recruit Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch), an unassuming middle-aged businessman with accounts in Eastern Europe, to make contact with him.  After meeting with Wynne, Penkovsky is impressed with his grace under pressure and insists that the CIA continue to use him as a courier even though he is an amateur.  Wynne is initially reluctant because it will be dangerous and, more importantly, his behavior will make his wife Sheila (Jessie Buckley) suspicious because of a previous infidelity but, after a crash course in spy craft, he eventually smuggles in thousands of pieces of intel and develops a close friendship with Penkovsky.  The stakes are raised significantly when Khrushchev places missiles in Cuba and when Penkovsky comes under suspicion.  I really love spy movies and this is a good one because it focuses on the humanity of both characters and their desire to make the world a better place by their actions.  It is moody and atmospheric with lots of Cold War intrigue that had me on the edge of my seat (even upon a second viewing).  Cumberbatch gives a riveting performance (one of his best) that is sometimes amusing, especially when he attempts to get in shape, and sometimes quite affecting, especially in a late scene with Ninidze.  The fact that this is based on a true story makes it even more compelling and I highly recommend it, especially to fans of the genre.