The Courier Delivers as an Engaging Spy Drama

The Courier doesn’t exactly offer anything all that new for a spy movie. It strides steadily through the typical tropes and motions to tell a tale involving Russia, MI6, the CIA, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. There is intrigue and political tension, but the focus always feels centered on the personal story of two spies trapped in a difficult situation. Even when the drama seems to swell a bit too much with the monologues and soundtrack, there’s a real sense of humanity that often seems to get lost in the fog of most spy movies.

Merab Ninidze as Oleg Penkovsky in The Courier. Liam Daniel/Courtesy of Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions

What makes the film compelling is that the two spies at the center of this based-on-true-events story are not exactly experts in their craft: they are businessmen with simple lives who bubble up into anxiety and fear when realizing something dangerous may be headed their way. Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), code name Ironbark, has tried to keep his intelligence work a secret but is finding it harder and harder to do so as investigations and executions increase. He has a wife and child to think about, making him desperate for a better contact.

MI6 thinks it has the perfect candidate with Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch). He’s no suspected agent but a mere English businessman who spends his evenings dryly bickering with his wife and parenting his son—so it comes as a shock when he’s approached by both MI6 and the CIA to carry out a mission of information retrieval. Though the agents assure Greville that he won’t have to do anything more than business trips as usual with some small documents to transport, he’s naturally nervous, considering he’s delivering key information on the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Greville Wynn. Liam Daniel/Courtesy of Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions

The mission seems less worrying when he actually meets Oleg and the two find they have quite a bit in common. After a few dinners and drinks, they start forming a bond, strong enough that Greville feels he can invite Oleg over for dinner with his family. There’s a wonderful moment where the cautious Wynnes probe their Russian visitor with questions about international relations. Of course, having understood that the actions of a country don’t often represent the will of the people, Oleg breaks things down simply for Greville’s son about how international relations can often start small. Something as simple as dinner can an opportunity for unity.

Cumberbatch’s performance is exceptional in this picture, breathing with the right amount of ease at work and anxiety as Greville’s espionage continues. His slow build of unease boils beautifully, resulting in unexpected shouting at home and frantic scrambling when he fears the KGB may have tampered with his hotel room. It’s one of his finer performances and can keep up with Ninidze’s refined sternness. Worth noting are the palpable and fluctuating emotions Cumberbatch shares with Jessie Buckley, playing Greville’s wife, Sheila. She grows bitter and distant while he travels to dangerous places, making his sudden lust in bed more troubling than passionate.

Jessie Buckley as Sheila. Liam Daniel/Courtesy of Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions

Director Dominic Cooke takes care to always make sure his spy thriller remains a personal story between businessmen thrown into the business of the world’s international security. There’s brisk pacing to the way the film proceeds through montages of Greville’s Russian trips while MI6 runs down tips and pointers. The soundtrack keeps up, giving an almost light tone to the grind of this new routine before the orchestra swells for the tension and emotion of the nail-biter climax. There are a few scenes that divert toward the actions of the KGB and the situation brewing in Cuba for context, but the majority of the film focuses squarely on the bond of two spies in a tough situation.

It’s only in the third act that the film begins to settle too comfortably into the usual motions of such a picture. We get to see Greville at his lowest, thrown into dire straits but refusing budge. When he delivers a monologue while the soundtrack swells, it doesn’t diminish the strength of the picture, but it also doesn’t exactly ring as true as the scene in which Oleg is cornered and Greville can’t quite calm himself.

Liam Daniel/Courtesy of Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions

The Courier won’t exactly blow the lid off the typical spy thriller assembly, but it does present itself in an earnest and robust fashion. It’s shot beautifully, the performances are emotionally engaging, and the plotting never bores with the details. Cooke clearly placed a lot of effort into making this important story engaging enough to rise above the average historical film adaptation. And on that level, The Courier just plain works, getting its job done as professionally as a businessman on a trip to a familiar location.