Review: Our Kind of Traitor
Though perhaps not as complex an exploration of the moral morass in which John le Carré typically plunges his characters, Our Kind of Traitor is nonetheless an engrossing espionage thriller that steals the breath, churns the stomach and races the heart.
Perry Makepeace (Ewan McGregor) is a tweedy university professor who claims to lack the imagination to do anything other than teach poetry. He's holidaying in Marrakesh with wife Gail (Naomie Harris). It's quickly revealed that there's trouble in paradise. She's still smarting from his recent infidelity with one of his students; he bristles when she abandons him to take a work call during a dinner in a restaurant that is far above his pay grade.
Dima (Stellan Skarsgård) is in that same restaurant. He's hard to miss. A bellowing bear of a man that immediately pulls everyone into his orbit, he cajoles the mild-mannered professor into attending a party where Perry loses himself in a haze of booze, cocaine and semi-serious flirtations. His rescue of a young woman from the clutches of a heavily tattooed Russian puts him in Dima's good graces and the two men further bond over a game of tennis the following morning, where Dima introduces Perry and Gail to his wife Tamara (Saskia Reeves) and their coterie of children.
At a party for his daughter's 18th birthday, Dima reveals to Perry that he has information that would be extremely useful to British intelligence, namely a who's who of British politicians who are in the very deep pockets of a Russian crime syndicate led by "The Prince" (Grigoriy Dobrygin), the ruthless mobster for whom Dima launders money. If Perry and Gail can help negotiate his escape from under the extremely watchful eyes of the Prince and his men and, most importantly, ensure the safety of his family, then he'll provide unassailable evidence of the British politicians' dirty dealings. Easier said than done, especially since MI-6 agent Hector (Damian Lewis) moves forward with the operation without official authorisation, a gambit which threatens the lives of everyone involved.
Like the exemplary BBC mini-series adaptation of le Carré's The Night Manager, Our Kind of Traitor's tale of an ordinary man caught in a most dangerous situation blooms from an almost preposterous seed. In the former, ex-soldier and hotel manager Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) is caught in the world of international arms smuggling in the hopes of finding the killer of a woman he barely knew. In the latter, Perry risks his and Gail's lives to help a man in whose presence they've been a mere few days. Why? Even Perry can't provide the answer. There's something about the flamboyant Russian that endears him to the couple. "Maybe we're better at looking after other people than ourselves," Gail wonders. Perhaps for a man who spends most of his days in university halls, the thrill excites. Perhaps it's the spark Perry and Gail need to bring them closer.
As with The Night Manager, Our Kind of Traitor feels more Bondian and less cynical than le Carré's previous works, which may mark it as lightweight for purists. Yet this is still an excellent effort though some of its plotting may be predictable and sometimes silly (a phone call made whilst at a hideaway house shall naturally ensure the killers come knocking on that door). Most of this is due to Anthony Dod Mantle's stylish cinematography, Hossein Amini's smartly structured screenplay and Susanna White's confident direction. White's choices are particularly commendable - this is a film where suspense is generated from the relatively quotidian, a drive that leads to a retro-futuristic housing project, a tennis match in a cavernous health club, an extraction from the reflective Einstein Museum in Bern (perhaps a nod to Orson Welles' famous hall of mirrors finale in The Lady From Shanghai). Threats and betrayals may be whispered, but impact like depth charges. The film's most striking image - an explosion seen in the distance, its sound like a murmur - is emblematic of this approach.
All the actors are in fine fettle. McGregor is compelling, Harris is all angles and slink, Lewis (outfitted in a trench and glasses that more than recall Michael Caine's iconic costuming as British spy Harry Palmer) overdoes the menace at first but his steely smarm becomes more effective as the film progresses. The standout is Skarsgård, whose portrayal here reminds audiences what an intimidating physical presence he can be. His Dima may be a melodramatic character but Skarsgard conveys the fierce commitment to family that underpins his motivations. Everyone's a kind of traitor in this film, but certain allegiances are sacrosanct.
Our Kind of Traitor
Directed by: Susanna White
Written by: Hossein Amini; based on the novel by John le Carré
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Naomie Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Damian Lewis, Mark Stanley, Mark Gatiss, Jeremy Northam, Grigoriy Dobrygin, Pawel Szajda, Alicia von Rittberg, Velipor Topic, Saskia Reeves, Alec Utgoff, Khalid Abdalla
