The Courier
It’s a simple premise, and it’s not really a part of Cold War movies or even spy movies: Learning that we are fundamentally the same in spite of political difference is the take that’s most compelling in Dominic Cooke’s enjoyable espionage drama. British businessman Greville Wynne ( Benedict Cumberbatch —on fine form) was recruited in 1960 by the British Intelligence Services to make contact with Oleg Pentovsky ( Merab Ninidze ), who as we’ve seen is doubting the sanity of Khrushchev and thinking about ways to avert nuclear war—even as he sees how traitors are dealt with. The movie is at its best when Pentovsky and Wynne are together. They seem to match each other from their separate world-views and it’s not long before Wynne is questioning the ruthless amorality of MI6, with Angus Wright playing spy-handler Dickie Francis with joyful stiff-upper lip. His CIA aide ( Rachel Brosnahan ) is more passionate and possibly has the most conventional cinematic moments: in one scene she expl...