Often we see stories on the screen of American spies in Moscow, or Cold War espionage, but rarely do we get to see the men and women of the USSR who shared internal information with other countries in an attempt to stave off World War. Based on the true story of Oleg Penkovsy and Greville Wynne, The Courier is a real-life spy thriller that’s perfect for those fascinated with espionage during the Cold War. Benedict Cumberbatch plays British businessman Greville Wynne, a man who was hoping for a bit of a thrill and found himself working passing messages from a member of the Communist Party in Russia to British Intelligence. Soviet Officer Oleg Penkovsky (played by Merab Ninidze) risked his life to provide covert internal operation information to Wynne, who then passed it on to British and American intelligence agencies to try to prevent nuclear disaster during an international incident between the USSR and the United States.
As someone who is obsessed with Cold War espionage, I found this movie delightful and entertaining. The second this trailer popped into my email I was already rushing to screen the film. Cumberbatch and Ninidze play off each other wonderfully and in a way that is believable. Rachel Brosnahan is, as always, excellent. While obviously some poetic license is taken in the film to fill in gaps of information that has undoubtedly been redacted or we might never be able to know, the film is respectful and highlights what we do when we think justice has not been done. The research was clearly done well, including reseach from more than one side as Penkovsky was considered to be a villain in the USSR propaganda. I love the fact that Dominic Cooke cast people from Russia for more believability, and was also blessed with the fact that for extras and short line that London is blessed with a large community of Russian speakers. Come into the film knowing a lot of time and information has to be condensed, because there is just so much of it.
The Courier is available to rent through on demand platforms starting April 16, 2021. This is one I will end up buying to own.
