Our Kind of Traitor

What lengths would you go to in order to save your family?

Would you deliver a memory stick to the MI6 if a stranger asked you to?

Our Kind of Traitor poses these and more questions in the adaptation of a John LeCarre novel. Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard, and Damian Lewis are the three major leads.

The movie was enjoyable if a little unbelievable at times.

Not the best big-screen adaptation of a John LeCarre novel but even a second-rate LeCarre offers its pleasures. The plot of "Our Kind of Traitor" may be a tad far-fetched but then the plots of most good spy yarns often are. The Cold War having ended it's the Russian Mafia who take centre-stage here and as the Russian oligarch who wants to defect Stellan Skarsgard is one of the best things in the picture. Indeed, it's well cast throughout, (Damian Lewis is particularly good as a cynical MI6 operative), and typically there is some nice location work nicely shot by DoP Anthony Dod Mantle. If the director Sussana White doesn't do anything particularly innovative with the material at least she doesn't muck things up. Minor, then, but also surprisingly entertaining, too.

Sometimes you get into a situation without really doing anything. And then you have to ask yourself where to go from there. Something like this happens to Ewan McGregors character. Someone with a past, but also someone with morals. And someone who seems to be struggling with his life, so he may be welcoming whatever gets thrown at him.

This is based on a novel which I haven't read, so I can't compare those two. I can tell you that the movie is more than suspenseful enough and it seems very much rooted in reality (of course heightened at certain points of the story). There are many obstacles and you may see a lot of things coming before they happen, but the movie is played very well and is more than decent enough to enjoy

I enjoy John Le Carre, but none of the adaptations of his books have really blown me away. I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I came into this movie without many expectations, as I have not read the book and I hadn't heard anything about the movie.

Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgård star as a British professor and a Russian mobster respectively, and both give great performances, especially Skarsgård, who plays a man who you know is a bad person, but you can't help but like. Naomie Harris and Damian Lewis also feature, and while both are good in their roles, I felt like Harris, who plays McGregor's wife, wasn't given much to do.

I really enjoyed the cinematography, and you could tell that Anthony Dod Mantle worked hard to make sure every shot was interesting even when what was going on in the shot was pretty basic.

The story is nothing you haven't seen before, but I found myself really captured by the great acting and interesting dialogue.

B+

This is a proper screen adaptation of a John le Carre novel. If you're looking for a film to watch or rent, this is a good one. It tells the story of an ordinary British couple who, while on holiday, get caught up in a drama involving a member of the Russian mafia. This follows them after the holiday, and it turns into a terrifying adventure.

I thought the movie was gripping. There were many scenes that had me at the edge of my seat. The scenes were set in various locations around Europe and the rest of the world. I disagree with those who say the plot developments were not credible.

I think this movie is a little under-rated with it's current IMDb score. It's worth about 7.5.