Directed by: Dominic Cooke
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel Brosnahan, Jessie Buckley, Merab Ninidze, Angus Wright
Even though the Cold War ended over thirty years ago, the era can still churn out some solid spy thrillers. The Courier is among them, in which an ordinary English businessman (Cumberbatch) is recruited by MI6 and the CIA to act as a courier for a Russian spy (Ninidze) passing Soviet secrets to the West. The businessman, Greville Wynne, seems excited to be part of the Cold War effort, but the job soon takes a toll on he and his family. He can't tell his wife Sheila (Buckley) what he's really doing in Moscow, but since he once had an affair, it is natural for Sheila to suspect he is having another one. Add all that into the mix and you get both internal and external tension for Greville.
On that level, The Courier works. We've seen the spy stuff before, but The Courier captures the look and feel of early 1960's England. A friendship also grows between the spy, a high-ranking Soviet official named Oleg who is frightened of his nation's desire to move towards nuclear war, and Greville. Oleg, like Greville, is a family man who fears for his wife and daughter. They find they have more in common than they suspected. The friendship between Oleg and Greville adds a moving dimension to The Courier.
It's easy to look at the Cold War in hindsight as one big muscle flexing between the United States and Soviet Union. The threat of nuclear war, however, was very real even if it made zero sense to engage in one. Within hours, both sides will be devastated and no one would win. Each nation tread carefully. They would push, but only so far. The Courier understands that. The performances play this out, even though at least twice I expected Rachel Brosnahan (as CIA Operative Emily Donovan) to break out into a Marvelous Mrs. Maisel act.
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