The Courier is a 2020 spy thriller that tells the true story of a British businessman who is unwittingly recruited into one of the greatest international conflicts in history. Forming an unlikely partnership with a Soviet officer hoping to prevent a nuclear confrontation, the two men work together to provide the crucial intelligence used to defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis. Directed by Dominic Cooke and written by Tom O’Connor, the cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel Brosnahan, Merab Ninidze, and Jessie Buckley.
The film had its world premiere under its original title Ironbark at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020. The theatrical release in the U.S. and U.K. was slated for March 19th, 2021.
The Good
I’ll be the first to admit that I was usually bored during history class in high school, and it probably didn’t help that my teacher was like 100 years old, although now that I think about it that likely made him better at his job. I’m kidding, mostly anyway. But I have come to realize that as you get older, you learn to appreciate the history that helped to shape the world we live in today, for better or for worse. For this reason, I was excited to see The Courier, because it gave me an opportunity to brush up on my Cold War era history, and boy was it good.
This is a historical drama that is more entertaining than most movies that have released in recent memory, and that is quite an accomplishment. The story itself comes together in a very easy to understand way without feeling dumbed down. You have extremely likable characters that you genuinely care about, which might be the biggest accomplishment for the film as a whole. It was never boring and felt very authentic to the time, and kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The fact that you can actually learn something valuable and be this entertained gets me all kinds of excited. We need more movies like this.
The acting was basically perfect. Because of his larger than life role as Marvel’s Doctor Strange, we forget just how great of an actor Benedict Cumberbatch really is. He can become pretty much any character at the drop of a hat, I mean he’s the real deal. His portrayal of the brave, and quite frankly heroic, Greville Wynne is honestly mesmerizing, I’m not sure how else to put it. Not only is he believable and infectious on-screen, he breathes real life into his character. His performance was absolutely Oscar-worthy, and I hope he gets some well-deserved recognition.
Merab Ninidze took on the 2nd most important role in the film playing Oleg Penkovsky, and he absolutely crushed it. The bond he forms with Cumberbatch’s character was the difference for me. Rachel Brosnahan was fantastic as usual, taking on a pivotal role as one of the more emotionally driven characters. I also really liked Jessie Beckley, who most will remember as the lunatic nurse Oraetta Mayflower in the latest season of Fargo. She had great chemistry as Wynne’s wife.
As far as the technical aspects of the film, everything comes together as well as you could hope for. From the directing, to the costume and set design, to the cinematography, to the score and soundtrack, I felt like I was right there in Cold War era Russia. Even the scenes that emphasized freezing cold temperatures gave me a bit of a chill. I’d almost argue that the score and cinematography in tandem pull the most weight as far as setting the tone for the film, but either way big thumbs up all around.
The Bad
Usually a historical drama will have plenty to complain about as it relates to entertainment value because they are notoriously slow and boring at times, but that wasn’t the case here. Not at all. The Courier kept my attention, and if anything it has me wanting to do more research on this crazy sequence of events. I’d say that’s a positive. So yeah, not much negative to report.
The Verdict
A dramatic and entertaining edge of your seat spy thriller based on remarkable true events, The Courier is a not so subtle reminder that Benedict Cumberbatch remains one of the best actors Hollywood has to offer. A powerful and history-making story like this makes you want to do better, to be better, and for me, that’s worth much more than the price of a movie ticket. This may not have been on your radar, but trust me when I say it should be. Highly recommended.
TED TAKES RATING - 8.5/10
The Courier is now playing in theaters. Check out the trailer below.