Our Kind of Traitor

Roadside Attractions | Release Date: July 1, 2016

6.3	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 41 Ratings

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ClariseSamuelsJul 23, 2016

The spy genre continues to be one of the most popular Hollywood themes making the rounds in the theaters. This time we have an adaptation from the master himself, John le Carré, starring Ewan McGregor as a citizen spy who is reluctantlyThe spy genre continues to be one of the most popular Hollywood themes making the rounds in the theaters. This time we have an adaptation from the master himself, John le Carré, starring Ewan McGregor as a citizen spy who is reluctantly dragged into a Russian Mafia intrigue, and Naomie Harris, fresh from her role as Moneypenny in the last James Bond extravaganza. In this film Harris is no longer an unobtrusive sidekick for Bond’s sardonic and self-assured bravado. She is one of the two principals, and she plays an intelligent lawyer who is trying to heal her damaged marriage. Having her empathetic husband fall into the good graces of a Russian Mafia front man who is about to be fired from his job as chief accountant and then murdered along with his family, only serves to make her marital woes that much more complicated.

Gail (Naomie Harris) and Perry (Ewan McGregor) are trying to mend their marriage on a romantic holiday in Marrakesh, when Gail leaves Perry alone at a restaurant after dinner just two nights before they are due to fly back to London. Sitting by himself, he attracts the attention of a friendly but coarse and obnoxious Russian named Dima (Stellan Skarsgård). Dima invites Perry to his table, takes him to a party meant for decadent millionaires only, and then insists upon an early morning tennis match. Finally, after having bonded heavily with the mild-mannered professor of poetics, Dima tells Perry his dark secret. He is the chief accountant in charge of all the Swiss bank accounts for the Russian Mafia, now headed by a businessman/gangster called the Prince. Dima is in possession of incriminating knowledge; he knows that when he signs off on the accounts a few weeks hence, he and his family will be murdered, as was the previous accountant. He needs Perry to take back to London for him a memory stick of all the numbers and names on the Swiss bank accounts, which include top members of British Parliament. The British government is about to accept billions of dollars in funding from the Prince, who masquerades as a legitimate multibillionaire businessman. Dima needs to expose the scam and convince the British government to offer him and his family asylum in England. Perry agrees to be his messenger.

Thus begins a complicated and tense escapade, where Perry and Gail get more and more involved, along with the small number of British government officials who are willing to investigate the scandal and try to bring it down. This is not the kind of spy movie where there are multiple chase scenes in cars, speedboats, and planes. This is a more subtle kind of spycraft that involves a lot of talking, political negotiations, and patient waiting. As in real life, sometimes the action lags; nevertheless, the quiet, low-key kind of suspense generated by the plot is unrelenting from the first scene to the very end. McGregor has to carry what is occasionally a talking-heads plot for the entire film along with a lot of help from Harris, and the two of them make a good team. Skarsgård, who is actually Swedish, is brilliant in the role of Dima.… Expand

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GinaKJul 3, 2016

I will give Our Kind of Traitor a marginal “green” rating because I enjoyed it, but I don’t think it’s a great film. The pluses were a beautifully photographed first third, excellent performances by Stellan Skarsgard and Damian Lewis, andI will give Our Kind of Traitor a marginal “green” rating because I enjoyed it, but I don’t think it’s a great film. The pluses were a beautifully photographed first third, excellent performances by Stellan Skarsgard and Damian Lewis, and direction that didn’t fall into the trap of a lot of film adaptations of Le Carre novels – slumber. For once a Le Carre adaptation that moved along and didn’t feel overly detailed and insanely slow. So if you have had it with brain-deadening Marvel hero movies, sequels to old successes, and kiddy films, you might enjoy this one. I did – most of the time.… Expand

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SpangleNov 13, 2016

Directed by Susanna White, Our Kind of Traitor received a largely mixed reception upon its release this past Summer, which is really too bad. Another adaptation of a John Le Carre novel, Our Kind of Traitor is the least of his recentDirected by Susanna White, Our Kind of Traitor received a largely mixed reception upon its release this past Summer, which is really too bad. Another adaptation of a John Le Carre novel, Our Kind of Traitor is the least of his recent adaptations (The Constant Gardener; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; A Most Wanted Man), but still a high quality spy thriller. Starring Ewan McGregor as Perry, a professor who is unexpectedly approached with vital information on the Russian Mafia by gangster Dima (Stellan Skarsgard), the film is a slow building film, but one with a stellar pay-off.

As with all of the adaptations of Le Carre's novels, Our Kind of Traitor is incredibly precise. Its actions are slow and drawn out. This allows White to inject the film with incredible tension and, occasionally, a unique visual style. Throughout the film, much of the film has this very sleek, glowing look that establishes Our Kind of Traitor as both a good looking film and a decidedly modern one. At times, however, it can be extremely distracting. For example, there is one scene in which McGregor is sitting and is overtaken by a bright orange lens flare that obscures our view of him. I can only hope that was unintentional.

Yet, even when that occurs, the film is incredibly well-written. Tense, deliberate, and with a ton of moving parts, Our Kind of Traitor is a Le Carre spy adaptation, through and through. It is very subtle and a lot happens that the film simply expects the audience to keep up with it. Fortunately, if you are paying attention, this is hardly a challenge and it is very rewarding to watch a film that trusts its audience to keep up and does not feel the need to spell everything out.

The acting in Our Kind of Traitor is also tremendous. McGregor is terrific in the lead role, as the unsuspecting and personally maligned college professor who gets thrown into international politics. Skarsgard, as the repentant and family-focused member of the Russian mafia, is boisterous and loud when needed, but equally solemn and subtle when things turn serious. The balance he strikes between these two personalities is quite compelling to watch and never a let down. As the stolid MI6 agent, Damian Lewis is pretty stereotypical, but brought a cold, calculating edge to the role that really made his performance incredibly captivating.

In a world of action spy films dominated by James Bond and Ethan Hunt, John Le Carre spy films are a breath of fresh air every time. Even if Our Kind of Traitor is not the best film of the recent bunch, it is still a terrific spy film that is thrilling, engaging, and smart. Even better, it respects its audience and trusts us to follow along with the complicated web it weaves. Our Kind of Traitor is simply my kind of film.… Expand

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LeZeeOct 4, 2016

Caught between the spies and a mafia gang.

I cannot voice for others, some of them did not like it, but for me this is a good film and I enjoyed it. This is a British thriller based on the book of the same name. Directed by not a soCaught between the spies and a mafia gang.

I cannot voice for others, some of them did not like it, but for me this is a good film and I enjoyed it. This is a British thriller based on the book of the same name. Directed by not a so popular woman filmmaker and I think she did an awesome job. Very impressive storyline, completely unpredictable, but I felt I knew this tale and that was just because of this being too simple and yet emotionally appealed. Yep, I was not expecting that, it was a surprise and in the end, I happy that I saw it despite many negative responses.

This is a story of a London university professor Perry, who meets a Russian man called Dima during vacationing in Morocco with his wife. A simple meeting becomes a normal friendship, but later Dima reveals his true identity and asks him for a favour. Perry tries to do what Dima asked for, but that puts the couple in a tight spot. So now they're caught between the two people, not knowing how it all ends, the film in the next half is to reveal the result of the tale. I liked the line that said when Perry asked Dima why did you choose me?

Not just the British actors, but Stellan Skarsgard looked so great, even in his limited part. The highlight was the swift pace, a quickly told story, but it ran for over hundred minutes. The overall atmosphere created to tell the tale was excellent, just like what a spy thriller needed. There are some edgy moments, but the stunts were limited. This is an R rated film, only because of the small scale of drugs, nudes and languages, but it does not deserve that. Maybe that was intentionally done to make it look like a grown-up's film. I think I can recommend it and I hope you enjoy it as well.

7/10… Expand

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smiyamotOct 22, 2016

The movie starts out well. Englishman accepts a memory stick from a Russian mobster. Of course, you should never do that, could be a trap, now you are carrying Russian state secrets, you are a CIA spy, yada yada yada. Okay, we're pastThe movie starts out well. Englishman accepts a memory stick from a Russian mobster. Of course, you should never do that, could be a trap, now you are carrying Russian state secrets, you are a CIA spy, yada yada yada. Okay, we're past that, MI-6 thinks the Russian is real, can the Englishman get more involved. Wow, every teacher's vacation fantasy, be a spy. Okay, but then the story really gets out of hand and unbelievable, so I had to take points off. It was good while it lasted.… Expand

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alejandro970Jan 13, 2017

Efficent thriller with some taste of Hitchcock. Accurate post twist and unexpected ending makes it a good for a weekend evening. Remarkable role of Ewan Mc Gregor.

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