The Courier (Amazon
Prime)
October 16th, 1962 was my 11th
birthday and the start of the Cuban Missile crisis. We were watching Walter
Cronkite and on TV and there was a map of the United States with arrows
pointing to cities targeted by nuclear missiles launched from Cuba. New York City was in the bull’s eye. I remember
saying to me mother I was too young to die. The Courier is the true backstory
of the Cuban missile crisis. Benedict Cumberbatch
plays Greville Wynne an unassuming Englishman who gets recruited by MI6 and the
CIA. Cumberbatch gives a riveting performance
in this tense spy thriller. It has the feel of a John le Carre novel but it is
true. Cumberbatch plays a middle class businessman with just the right accent
and not too stiff posture. He is convinced by his handlers as a courier he
would not be in much danger if something went wrong. Spy tradecraft in 1962 was
elementary compared to today but the depictions in the film authenticated the period. Using a
Minox camera and a hollowed out can as a drop off to pass on material was the
state of art at the time. The duplicity of espionage is one man’s hero is another
man’s traitor.
The arch of Cumberbatch’s character goes from ordinary
businessman to reluctant spy to a man of heroic conviction. Cumberbatch’s transition
is masterful. Not to give too much away at one point he loses a tremendous amount
of weight which portrays his terrible situation.
It is almost hard to watch.
The supporting cast is excellent. Merab Ninidze plays Oleg
Penkousky a Soviet military intelligence colonel. He plays the role of a
conflicted Soviet hero who is patriotic but troubled by the recklessness of Nikita
Khrushchev’s path to nuclear war. Ninidze is a native Georgian which fits
perfectly with his role. Rachel Brosanhan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
plays Emily Donovan the CIA officer. Her role was more empathetic to the
mission and concern for Wynne’s welfare. To match the period her hair was perfectly
coiffed fortified with layers hairspray and she wore a pillbox hat.
The casting director should receive an award for casting Keir
Hills as Wynne’s young son. His resemblance to Cumberbatch is striking with
blond hair and long mirthless face. The typical English schoolboy of the 60’s.
This October will be my 70th birthday which I
hope will be uneventful.
