Director Dominic Cooke brings the life story of British engineer and businessman Greville Wynne to the big screen in The Courier from Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) finds himself recruited into one of the most significant 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). The mission to provide crucial intelligence needed to prevent a nuclear confrontation and defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Set in the early sixties, The Courier is a thinking person’s spy film or, in laymen’s terms, a movie for adults. I did not expect a movie full of death-defying stunts and hand-to-hand combat sequences from the premise alone, but I did want something a little faster-paced. Benedict Cumberbatch is acceptable in the lead role and brings some life to the script from writer Tom O’Connor. I particularly enjoyed his scenes with Jessie Buckley, who portrays his wife Shelia, who deals with her husband’s newfound job and its effects on her family.
I was not familiar with Merab Ninidze, who portrays Soviet officer Oleg Penkovsky. I assume the filmmakers wanted us to identify with Oleg Penkovsky, which explains why they chose an unknown actor. The rest of the supporting cast all give paycheck performances. The only one who stands out is Rachel Brosnahan as CIA operative Emily Donovan.
I commend Greville Wynne for his bravery, and while Benedict Cumberbatch does a great job in the lead role, as a whole, The Courier missed the mark for me.
Final Grade C-
The Courier is showing in theaters now.
After an eight-year hiatus, cult director Eli Craig returns to the horror-comedy genre with his latest film, “Clown in a Cornfield,” from RLJE Films.
First-time director Felipe Vargas explores the consequences of forgetting one’s roots in the chilling horror film “Rosario,” produced by Highland Film Group and Muchio Mass Media. Alan Trezza wrote the screenplay, which begins with our titular character, a Mexican immigrant, receiving her first communion. After a spooky incident involving her eerie grandmother, it becomes evident that Rosario is destined to move on when she grows older.
Director Duncan Skiles taps into the buddy pic genre for his feature debut in “Neighborhood Watch” from RJLE Films. Simon (Jack Quaid) is a young man grappling with mental illness who becomes convinced that he has witnessed an abduction. When he reports it to the police, and they refuse to believe him, he reluctantly seeks the help of his neighbor Ed (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a jaded, retired security guard with a troubled past. As the unlikely duo delves deeper into the mystery, their pursuit of the truth forces them to confront the disappearance’s dark secrets and the unspoken wounds that haunt them.
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