Our Kind Of Traitor Review – A Gripping, Thrilling, Return to Cold War Espionage

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Category: Indies, Docs, Foreign Film

Published on Saturday, 02 July 2016 17:53

Written by Janet Walker

Our Kind Of Traitor from Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions presents a cat and mouse thriller, with an engaging plot and solid storyline taken from the modern cold war espionage playbook with Russian defectors, MI5, corrupt politicians and the unknown.

Directed by Susanna White, Our Kind Of Traitor stars Stellan Skarsgard, Ewan McGregor, Naomie Harris, Damian Lewis, Jeremy Northam, Khalid Abdalla, Mark Gatiss, Saskia Reeves, Alicia Von Rittberg, Mark Stanley, and Grigoriy Dobrygin. Our Kind of Traitor was adapted for the screen by Hossein Amini, from the 1964 novel The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, by John Le Carre.

Our Kind of Traitor opens with a stunning ballet, in slow motion and dedicated movements, the male dancer is performing to a full house of soviet dignitaries, businessmen and lovers of the arts. In the backroom, a deal is concluding. The Prince Nicolas Petrov, played by Grigoriy Dobrygin has just surpassed his own idea of wealth.

Our Kind of Traitor cuts to Perry, played by Ewan Mcgregor and his wife, Gail, played by Naomie Harris attempting to rekindle their marriage. Something is obviously wrong. The two settle into pleasantries after the failure of the mornings intimacy. Dinner is disastrous and as they are spending their second to the last night in Morocco essentially alone. The odds of finding the romance ember are slim.

Across the restaurant a loud, commanding Russian, played by Stellan Skarsgard is slicing off champagne corks, laughing with his friends. If he has worries they aren’t obvious to anyone least of all the British couple watching him longing for a moment of his carefree, joie de vivre spirit and mood.

Through fate or traveler’s luck, the now alone Perry, as the mornings mood, like a hangover, dictated Gail’s exit, is pulled into a conversation with the interesting Russian, which leads to a challenge, which leads to the Russian's win, which lands the unsuspecting Perry in a limo to a party where the Russian introduces him to the Marrakech connections.

As the evening wears into morning, Perry is once again convinced by Dima, played by Stellan Skarsgard, to “come join me.” This time the two end up at Dima’s home playing doubles tennis with his two sons. Soon it seems obvious he is a man with a consciousness and a family whom he dearly loves.  

Gail, whom Perry telephones, shows up at Dima’s and suddenly she is seduced by his charm and his persistent as he explains, “it’s my daughter’s birthday, come help me celebrate.” So the two agree and this, the last night, is bringing some surprises and excitement into the routine of married, bored, and hurt.

Gail and Perry are upwardly mobile British citizens, a lawyer and professor, their marriage is rocky and as Dima, who has admitted to Perry his mob affiliation, is pulling the unsuspecting professor and his wife into his web of deception, one doesn’t quite know where this evening is leading.

Dima finally makes his move and asks Perry to deliver, at customs, a flash drive with names, accounts, of British politicians who accepted bribes in order to finance the Russian mob’s move into European legitimacy.

This is where we meet Hector, played by Damian Lewis. A top field agent for MI5, Hector has had his ups and downs with the agency. Hoping to gain authorization for the operation and approval for a surveillance team, Hector is met with resistance and finally, after a passionate presentation, denied his request. He decides to go it alone.

His intentions may be honorable, although at times is difficult to tell, and his instincts are good. The authorization is forged and the meeting which takes his limited team across Europe and all agree to meet in Paris.

Perry and Gail are enmeshed in the fabricated promise of protection for both his family and himself and are willing to assist Hector in his plan which gets murkier by the minute with someone, presumably Aubrey Longrigg, played by Jeremy Northam, throwing up the roadblocks at every turn.

Our Kind of Traitor, is truly absorbing as Skarsgard leads this Russian mafia drama. A skillful cast, each draws the audience into their nexus of their world, from Dima, Perry, and Gail down to his twin daughters.

A modern European spy drama Our Kind of Traitor weaves in remnants of the Cold War. Shot with more than 90 sets and fifty shooting locations the film travels the cities and destinations seen in the film. The stunning cinematography is authentic as the cast move through the Swiss Alps.

Our Kind of Traitor is a specialty cocktail mixing modern Russian mafia drama and post war, cold war, MI5 tactics. Captivating, a cat and mouse suspense spy drama with sharp catchy dialogue, a solid storyline and plot, Our Kind of Traitor, leads MI5 through Europe he works to expose corrupt politicians and protect his family from retaliation.

Our Kind of Traitor leads the audience on a dynamic, fast moving, chase with the bad guys gunning for them. In true spy fashion, a fateful mistake is made which brings the enemy to their door.

Our Kind of Traitor opens July 1, 2017. Check your local listings. It is definitely worth seeing.