About the film (courtesy of Roadside Attractions):
In this true-life spy thriller, comes the story of an unassuming British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) recruited into one of the greatest international conflicts in history. At the behest of the UK’s MI-6 and a CIA operative (Rachel Brosnahan), he forms a covert, dangerous partnership with Soviet officer Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) in an effort to provide crucial intelligence needed to prevent a nuclear confrontation and defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis.
It hadn’t dawned on me until recently just how many times, especially as of late, that Benedict Cumberbatch has found himself cast in biographical films anchored around pivotal points in history. Tom Hanks might be getting a little competition from the other side of the pond when you step back and marvel (haha…sorry for the pun, there’s no proof that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is based on true events, YET).
Just within the last decade alone, 12 Years a Slave (2013), The Fifth Estate (2013), The Imitation Game (2014), Black Mass (2015), The Current War: Director’s Cut (2017), 1917 (2019) and The Mauritanian (2021) are all biopics of which Cumberbatch held major rolls in. Continuing this trend, a trip back to the early 1960s during the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis comes into focus The Courier.
As has been the case with a few of the aforementioned features, as a viewer, you’ll want to bring your patience along with you as the slow burn of events in The Courier form and start to play out. When writers (Tom O’Connor) and directors (Dominic Cooke) wish to find a balance between fact and the flash of finding some marketable eye candy items to reel in less patient audiences, it can sometimes be challenging and there’s usually a give and take.
Benedict Cumberbatch gives a good performance of a normal guy that gets in over his head while trying to do the right thing. His inexperience and vulnerabilities are what make his performance as Greville Wynne worth watching. He is no James Bond nor Jack Ryan, so don’t look for any of that. The Courier plays more like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and if you’ve ever sat down and watched that one, you already know that patience is required.
The Courier humanizes all sides involved, so it’s not like you can completely love or hate one side without giving consideration to the larger picture here. Given that the story is based on historical fact, you can’t dislike how things methodically playout. Thankfully, this thriller clocks in under two hours, which is a definite plus. Given that the acting is above average and the story itself is gripping in a way that makes you think of how close we were to having a completely different outcome, places this one on the more positive than negative side for me.
The Courier is only in theaters starting Friday, March 19.
