THE COURIER
****
Director: Dominic Cooke
Screenplay: Tom O’Connor
Principal cast:
Benedict Cumberbatch
Merab Ninidze
Rachel Brosnahan
Jessie Buckley
Angus Wright
Vladimir Chuprikov
Country: UK/USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 112 mins.
Australian release date: 1 April 2021.
As the Cold War between the West and the USSR progressed, the world entered a very tense phase in October 1962 with the imminent risk of a nuclear attack on the USA, specifically from Soviet missiles stationed in Cuba. It was well before the common use of satellites, portable computers and mobile communication devices, so secret services relied largely on HUMINT (i.e., human intelligence), real people on the ground exchanging stolen or copied documents, to gather vital information about their enemies’ plans. Many films have been made about this historic period but Dominic Cooke’s second feature, The Courier, based on true events, is not one you’ve seen before. It tells the little-known story of Greville Wynne, a British businessman who agreed to act as a courier of clandestine material for MI-6 and the CIA.
Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) was recruited by MI-6 agent Dickie Franks (Angus Wright) and CIA operative Emily Donovan (Rachel Brosnahan) because he was considered to have the perfect cover: he was a salesman who travelled regularly to the Eastern Bloc, was affable with his clients, could hold his drink and had no military or government background. He also qualified as he was perceived to be a true capitalist with just one interest – making money. Understandably, Wynne was taken aback by the proposal and at first rejected the whole idea because he couldn’t understand why he had been selected and, naturally, questioned the danger in which he was bound to find himself. However, the agents managed to convince him that it was a necessity, for the sake of ‘Queen and Country’, and that he would be protected no matter what. His contact behind the Iron Curtain was a high-ranking Soviet official, Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), with whom he ultimately developed a close friendship. Penkovsky’s reasons for betraying the USSR were his belief in mankind and his lack of faith in Nikita Khrushchev (Vladimir Chuprikov), First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. As Wynne travelled back and forth to Moscow, his relationship with his wife Sheila (Jessie Buckley) began to unravel because she was suspicious about his constant travelling, suspecting him of having an affair. As the tension rose internationally due to the Missile Crisis, so too did the tensions in the household and Wynne began to distance himself from his wife and young son. Naturally, he couldn’t tell Sheila the truth about his activities, but before long, dramatic events were to overtake them, gravely affecting everyone involved in the covert operation, whether directly or indirectly.
Both Wynne and Penkovsky are perfectly portrayed. Cumberbatch, as always, proves what a superior actor he is. He has worked with Dominic Cooke previously, playing Richard III in the BBC’s Shakespearean series The Hollow Crown. Cumberbatch explains, “Cooke came to meet me about the part and the project. Obviously, I was very keen to work with him again [and] I was intrigued by the arc the character went on. Spies are interesting meat and drink for actors because there's always mask play and role play and the shifts are very sudden and quick.” Indeed, so enthusiastic was he that he got his production company, SunnyMarch, to sign on as co-producer. The Georgian actor Merab Ninidze initially auditioned for a different role but he so impressed Cooke that he was brought back to read the part of Penkovsky, “And when he came back, we were just completely sold on him,” says the director. It was a wise choice.
The Courier is a quiet thriller, rather than a dramatic James Bond-style spy movie, but that’s not to say it’s any less tense. That’s to the credit of Tom O’Connor’s excellent script, which slowly builds the tension, layer upon layer, as the years pass and the Cuban Crisis develops. It is an old-fashioned piece that unspools in chronological order, beginning in August 1960, and it gets you in from the first frame and keeps you gripped until the closing credits roll.
Screenplay: Tom O’Connor
Principal cast:
Benedict Cumberbatch
Merab Ninidze
Rachel Brosnahan
Jessie Buckley
Angus Wright
Vladimir Chuprikov
Country: UK/USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 112 mins.
Australian release date: 1 April 2021.
As the Cold War between the West and the USSR progressed, the world entered a very tense phase in October 1962 with the imminent risk of a nuclear attack on the USA, specifically from Soviet missiles stationed in Cuba. It was well before the common use of satellites, portable computers and mobile communication devices, so secret services relied largely on HUMINT (i.e., human intelligence), real people on the ground exchanging stolen or copied documents, to gather vital information about their enemies’ plans. Many films have been made about this historic period but Dominic Cooke’s second feature, The Courier, based on true events, is not one you’ve seen before. It tells the little-known story of Greville Wynne, a British businessman who agreed to act as a courier of clandestine material for MI-6 and the CIA.
Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) was recruited by MI-6 agent Dickie Franks (Angus Wright) and CIA operative Emily Donovan (Rachel Brosnahan) because he was considered to have the perfect cover: he was a salesman who travelled regularly to the Eastern Bloc, was affable with his clients, could hold his drink and had no military or government background. He also qualified as he was perceived to be a true capitalist with just one interest – making money. Understandably, Wynne was taken aback by the proposal and at first rejected the whole idea because he couldn’t understand why he had been selected and, naturally, questioned the danger in which he was bound to find himself. However, the agents managed to convince him that it was a necessity, for the sake of ‘Queen and Country’, and that he would be protected no matter what. His contact behind the Iron Curtain was a high-ranking Soviet official, Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), with whom he ultimately developed a close friendship. Penkovsky’s reasons for betraying the USSR were his belief in mankind and his lack of faith in Nikita Khrushchev (Vladimir Chuprikov), First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. As Wynne travelled back and forth to Moscow, his relationship with his wife Sheila (Jessie Buckley) began to unravel because she was suspicious about his constant travelling, suspecting him of having an affair. As the tension rose internationally due to the Missile Crisis, so too did the tensions in the household and Wynne began to distance himself from his wife and young son. Naturally, he couldn’t tell Sheila the truth about his activities, but before long, dramatic events were to overtake them, gravely affecting everyone involved in the covert operation, whether directly or indirectly.
Both Wynne and Penkovsky are perfectly portrayed. Cumberbatch, as always, proves what a superior actor he is. He has worked with Dominic Cooke previously, playing Richard III in the BBC’s Shakespearean series The Hollow Crown. Cumberbatch explains, “Cooke came to meet me about the part and the project. Obviously, I was very keen to work with him again [and] I was intrigued by the arc the character went on. Spies are interesting meat and drink for actors because there's always mask play and role play and the shifts are very sudden and quick.” Indeed, so enthusiastic was he that he got his production company, SunnyMarch, to sign on as co-producer. The Georgian actor Merab Ninidze initially auditioned for a different role but he so impressed Cooke that he was brought back to read the part of Penkovsky, “And when he came back, we were just completely sold on him,” says the director. It was a wise choice.
The Courier is a quiet thriller, rather than a dramatic James Bond-style spy movie, but that’s not to say it’s any less tense. That’s to the credit of Tom O’Connor’s excellent script, which slowly builds the tension, layer upon layer, as the years pass and the Cuban Crisis develops. It is an old-fashioned piece that unspools in chronological order, beginning in August 1960, and it gets you in from the first frame and keeps you gripped until the closing credits roll.