Stars: Carlos Acosta, Radivoje Bukvic, Stellan Skarsgård
Storyline
When Peter and his girlfriend, Gail, cross paths with the charismatic Dima on their Moroccan holiday, the forceful Russian is quick to challenge Peter to a friendly game of tennis. But this innocuous contest is not all it seems - Dima is a long-time servant of the Russian mafia, whose new boss, 'The Prince', wants him and his family dead. His only hope is to ask the unsuspecting Peter to broker him sanctuary with the British intelligence services, in return for exposing a vein of corruption that runs right to the heart of the City of London. Soon they find themselves on a tortuous journey through Paris to a safe house in the Swiss Alps and, with the might of the Russian mafia closing in, begin to realise this particular match has the highest stakes of all...
Writers: John le Carré, Hossein Amini, Carlos Acosta, Radivoje Bukvic, Stellan Skarsgård, Carlos Acosta, Radivoje Bukvic, Stellan Skarsgård, Mariya Fomina, Dolya Gavanski, Grigoriy Dobrygin, Velibor Topic, Pawel Szajda, Ewan McGregor, Naomie Harris, Alec Utgoff, Marek Oravec, Mihhail Sibul, Jana Perez, Tony Tennant, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Cast: Carlos Acosta -
Ballet Dancer
Radivoje Bukvic -
Misha
(as Rasha Bukvic)
Stellan Skarsgård -
Dima
Mariya Fomina -
Anna
Dolya Gavanski -
Olga
Grigoriy Dobrygin -
The Prince
Velibor Topic -
Emilio Del Oro
Pawel Szajda -
Blue Eyed Killer
(as Pawel Szajda)
Ewan McGregor -
Perry
Naomie Harris -
Gail
Alec Utgoff -
Niki
Marek Oravec -
Andrei
Mihhail Sibul -
Cadaverous Bodyguard
Jana Perez -
Maria
Tony Tennant -
Tattooed Naked Man
Trivia: Justin Kurzel was previously attached to direct. In the end, Susanna White was hired as the film's director. See more »
Goofs:
The post production company Goldcrest is misspelled 'Golcrest' in the end credits. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 5/10
John le Carre is possibly one of the most acclaimed mystery thriller
writers of the last few decades. He does seem able to write stories and
characters with enough ambiguity and vagueness to keep his audience on
the edge of their seat. This is certainly the case with Our Kind Of
Traitor.
I've not read the source material, but Amini's screenplay doesn't have
the same punch as other le Carre adaptations. Much of the dialogue is
clunky, overly sweary and too expositiony, which doesn't match the
grounded and muted visual style and colour palette.
Coinciding with the clunky dialogue is some fairly wooden acting, even
by the big named cast. McGregor is perhaps a little too subtle, whereas
Harris is too far the opposite way, although Lewis and Skarsgard do fit
their roles pretty well. Cleverly you never know which characters you
can trust or what anyone's motives are, though by the end you're
frustratingly still not 100% sure.
The main trouble is, along with the script and acting, the movie feels
bumpy and uneven - it never quite gels. Mantle's shaky cinematography
makes it hard to focus while the slow pace drags the film out and tests
your patience a little. But Zarvos's music brings a great, murky and
tense atmosphere that will keep you slightly unsettled throughout.
A good watch - Susanna White's created a brilliantly ambiguous and
tense movie, though a little extra direction on the cast may have made
it more convincing and emotional.
0