


There are frequent scenes of alcohol use, with main characters becoming intoxicated. If you’re wondering about watching The Courier at home, you should know that the PG-13 rating is fair. Merab Ninidze gives a particularly nuanced performance and Benedict Cumberbatch (who had to lose a significant amount of weight for the second half of the film) is very convincing as the ambitious, nervous, and not overbright Wynne. The writing is tight and the acting is good, despite the mildly stereotyped brash Americans and foppish Brits. This is one of those movies that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat with a knot in your gut.Īs far as spy dramas go, The Courier is a fine example of the genre. Although the film drags occasionally, it does a fine job of both illuminating its characters and steadily building tension.
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With little in the way of shoot-em-ups, this movie spends its time examining what leads a patriot to betray his country and what motivates an ordinary, fearful man to become a courageous risk-taker. The story moves slowly, focusing on the characters of Penkovsky and especially on Wynne. That doesn’t mean it’s exciting: The Courier is an espionage drama and not a spy thriller. Set against the backdrop of the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, this adaptation of a true story makes for riveting cinema. When Franks and CIA agent Emily Donovan (Rachel Brosnahan) reach out to Wynne, he has a decision to make that has the power to change his life…and maybe save millions of others. British spymaster Dickie Franks (Angus Wright) has a position on Britain’s Board of Trade and is convinced that the best contact for Penkovsky is someone nobody would ever suspect – a British businessman eager for profits and disinterested in politics. He initially contacts the Americans but since US/Soviet relations have been strained by the Francis Gary Powers U2 spy plane incident, the CIA reaches out to Britain’s MI6 to manage the new asset. In a desperate attempt to prevent an atomic nightmare, Penkovsky makes the agonizing decision to start sharing information with the West in effect, to betray his country. It’s 1960 and Soviet Colonel Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) is convinced that a nuclear apocalypse is imminent. How much would you be willing to risk to save your country? What about saving the entire world? For Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch), an ambitious British salesman with a tendency to drink just a bit too much, this question is going to get very personal.
