Watchable thriller lacks suspense

Adapted from John le Carre’s 2010 novel, Our Kind of Traitor is the type of film one might describe as serviceable if that wasn’t such an obvious pun; a perfectly watchable tale of SIS-related espionage and intrigue that mistakenly forgets the key element in a thriller is to provide some thrills.

 

OUR KIND OF TRAITOR

Director: Susanna White
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Naomie Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, Damian Lewis, Jeremy Northam
Rating: (R13)
Three stars (out of five)

 

Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris play Perry and Gail, a married couple holidaying in Morocco when they encounter Stellan Skarsgard’s mysterious and charming Dima, an exiled Russian mobster.

They somehow end up befriending him and his family, and after hearing of Dima’s troubles, Perry agrees to deliver a memory stick to  MI6 upon his return to London.

Containing details of British politicians with ties to the Russian mafia, it would help Dima and his family claim asylum in the UK.

Of course if everything went smoothly there’d be no need to watch any further.

It’s middling viewing as it is, but is helped by Damian Lewis’ amusing turn as a single-malt-loving investigator seemingly straight out of a 1960s spy movie.

It’s an incongruous performance but he fares much better than McGregor’s imitation of a cardboard cutout.

Director White also has a few interesting tricks up her sleeve, playing with light, colour and focus to give it all a dreamlike, hazy quality but, crucially, this doesn’t work to create any suspense.

In the end it’s a good-enough story that feels rushed in its feature length, whereas the TV miniseries format might have allowed the material to breathe.

- Jeremy Quinn

Add a Comment