In the last decade or so, there has been a slew of great John le Carré adaptations, both on the big screen (The Constant Gardener, the peerless Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and A Most Wanted Man) and the small screen (this year’s The Night Manager). This new release from director Susanna White keeps up that trend.
Ewan McGregor plays Perry, a teacher who by chance is drawn into a murky world of espionage when he happens to meet a Russian mob money launderer, Dima (Stellan Skarsgård). What follows is a classic le Carré slow burn of a story. The tension slowly increases as Perry and his wife Gail (Naomie Harris) decide to help MI6 agent Hector (Damian Lewis) acquire information from Dima whilst trying to keep his family safe in return.
The ordinary man getting drawn into a labyrinthine plot is very Hitchcockian. This might not be quite up there with the master’s best work but it is terrific stuff nonetheless. The other pleasing comparison with Hitchcock is the presence of the customary le Carré cameo; this time as a ticket inspector at a gallery exhibition.
McGregor is much better here than in the recent Jane Got a Gun and Miles Ahead, and Lewis is excellent as a spy who is almost as compelling as George Smiley. With his demeanor and love of cooking, he is slightly reminiscent of Len Deighton’s Harry Palmer, and if there is ever a welcome reboot of those films, Damian Lewis would be perfect casting. Skarsgård may be a little too ripe in his role and a couple of clichés sneak into the screenplay but this is otherwise a brilliant adaptation for lovers of grown up films.
Rating: 9 out of 10