Director: Shamim Sarif
Starring: Rebecca Ferguson, Antje Traue, Charles Dance, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Anthony Head, Thure Lindhardt, Sam Reid.
Haven't seen anything from Shamim Sarif before and something has to be said about writing a novel and then making a film about it yourself. Looking at her filmography its seems to be a habit and if this film is anything to go by; a good one. Even though the story jumps between Moscow's Cold War era and the early nineties there's actually a nice fluid transition so not to lose sight of the mystery unfolding. The gorgeous Rebecca Ferguson plays a dual role of the missing Russian-come-American spy and her artist Niece; who does well to identify each character individually. It's an intriguing tale of emotional espionage, where a spy actually falls in love with her asset and it tackles the struggle between heart and service to a cause. I wouldn't go as far as calling it a romance but a tragic drama with an air of mystery. It's not confusing and it isn't predictable either, I especially didn't see the relationship development between Lauren and Marina coming. It has a great cast, mostly British which did annoy me slightly with the lack of Russian accents. Pleased to see Antje Traue as I really enjoyed her presence in Man of Steel as bad girl Faora-Ul and as hard-case Nadia in Pandorum. But who really shined for me in this was Oliver Jackson-Cohen who I thought was brilliant as the sometimes-charming, mostly-demanding defected comrade. I liked him in Faster too, certainly a name to watch out for. It was a nice touch using the same sets and locations to morph the time zones to help tell the story. And another personal favourite, Rachel Portman, drama/romance composer does a good score and Ella Henderson provides a lovely track for the end credits, purposefully written for the film and is currently unavailable to buy. It's great storytelling and if you can put aside the lack of Russian accents, it is an enjoyable and intriguing watch. Not necessary for the big screen but a worthwhile film. A touching, dramatised 'spy who loved me.'
Running Time: 8
The Cast: 7
Performance: 7
Direction: 7
Story: 9
Script: 6
Creativity: 6
Soundtrack: 7
Job Description: 8
The Extra Bonus Point: 0
65% 7/10
