Often in a dangerous situation, one wants to believe that he/she might respond as a hero and that’s probably because of the films we see that show normal people making bold moves when they are in a similar situation. It would feel amazing if we react similarly to those protagonists in our own lives when facing threat or oppression. It is empowering to watch films with such messages and it’s particularly true when it comes to stories about real people.
Based on a true story, ‘The Courier’ is about a British businessman Greville Wynne who gets recruited into one of the greatest international conflicts in history. Though his actions benefit his country, what then follows is a dangerous partnership that leads to his imprisonment and torture.
Set in the early 1960s, the spy-thriller begins with Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), a Soviet military intelligence colonel, who makes a rather bold move by sending a secret word to the American embassy in Moscow that he is willing to provide military secrets to the United States and Great Britain.
As soon as the embassy receives the news, American and British agent Emily Donovan (Rachel Brosnahan) takes control. She, along with Dickie Franks (Angus Wright), taps a British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) to act as a courier for Penkovsky. Since Wynne travels to and forth to eastern European countries for work, the CIA and British intelligence think that it won’t be difficult for him to be a courier. And because he is a businessman with no connection to the intelligence services, it is easy for him to convince Russia that he is just another greedy capitalist.
When Wynne is asked about it, he turns them down as he has no formal training in espionage. He’s a family man with a young son Andrew (Keir Hills) and a loving wife Sheila (Jessie Buckley). But he obliges out of duty to his country with the promise that his wife and son would be taken care of should the worst occur.
Soon Wynne starts pursuing new contracts in the Soviet Union and while doing so regularly takes packages from Penkovsky and smuggles them out of the country. As he continues to make regular trips, his relationship with Penkovsky enhances. As the two family men spend more time together, their guards lower and the two become close friends. But when Donovan and Franks tell Wynne that his assignment is complete, he refuses to leave Penkovsky without an exit plan.
Cumberbatch and Ninidze do a very good job conveying their newfound bond which helps the viewer swallow the unbelievable decision that sets the second half of the film in motion.
Benedict Cumberbatch is quite appealing as Greville Wynne. With his little moustache, neatly-parted hair, trench coat and slouching gait, he looks every bit the middle-class businessman. His ordinary look makes him stand out as the businessman-turned-spy.
The real attraction is the great Georgian actor Merab Ninidze who plays Oleg Penkovsky. He definitely can relay an entire novel’s worth of information with just a couple of glances.
Rachel Brosnahan’s performance as the CIA operative Emily Donovan feels completely action-packed. The way she executes the entire operation is commendable.
Though Jessie Buckley, as Wynne’s suspicious wife, and Rachel Brosnahan, as an amusingly pushy CIA operative, add welcome jolts of female energy, ‘The Courier’ is essentially the story of an extraordinary male friendship.
Directed by Dominic Cooke, ‘The Courier’ recreates the era of the 1960s perfectly from the clothes and cars to JFK’s speeches on the radio.
Tom O’Connor’s screenplay for the film heavily depends on the two self-aggrandizing books ‘The Man from Moscow’ (1967) and ‘The Man from Odessa’ (1981) where British electrical engineer Greville Wynne, who was never formally acknowledged by the British government, shares his experiences. The film explains how correctly these books tell the story. There are plenty of thrills for spy thriller buffs.
The film is appealing from its outset and draws one into its tale of ordinary men doing extraordinary things to save the world. The credit goes to Sean Bobbitt’s moody cinematography and Abel Korzeniowski’s engaging score. Their work gives the illusion that the film could be made in the timeframe it is set in.
It’s one of the most remarkable espionage stories of the 20th century, a tale of personal loyalty instead of geopolitics or spycraft. The film gives a strong message making ‘The Courier’ worth seeking out. 
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