Review of Our Kind of Traitor (2016) by Nikolayg — 07 Oct 2016

I give this a 6 because I like Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris, and the acting overall is excellent. But the story .... Listen, this is a fine rental when the price comes down but don't pay top dollar in the theater to see it. The novel may have been better, but here is the problem with the movie. Actually, there are three: First, the theme the director discusses in the "extras" is just not there. It was either never in the script or it got cut out after it was filmed. Every story, even an action movie or thriller, is best when it has a psychological dimension. Here, the fledgling relationship between the main couple was meant to create that dimension. The movie opens in Marrakesh. The husband feels like he's not a real man anymore. His wife's career is soaring. He's lost. He stumbles across this Russian mafia guy trying to turn good by smuggling secret information out of Marakesh to London (There's more to the mafioso's reasons than that, but I don't want to create a spoiler). The husband decides to help the mafioso, in order to give his life purpose and feel like someone who matters. But I'm making all this up about the husband, his motivation, because it's not there in the movie. I just know that it's supposed to be because of what I was told in the "extras" feature. But it should be in the actual movie, not only in the extras. The couple and their issues and the husband's sense of inadequacy never come across directly or indirectly, by dialogue or action. Unless a vacant stare of five seconds by Ewan McGregor is supposed to be sufficient. It's not. Big miss there.

Problem number two: I will be vague so as not to create any spoiler. Someone hides away in a very good place, far away, impossible to locate. Yet, magically, the bad guys show up. No explanation given. Problem number three: Later, something else major happens, very major, actually it's the climactic moment of the whole movie. It makes no sense, or only vague sense if you want to write some of the story yourself in your head to explain it, which is what I did. But the movie studio is not paying me, so why am I sitting there writing plot in my head to explain what's happening on the screen? Major major problem.

I want to see visual, audio hints, scenes, events that demonstrate to me what the heck went on. I don't want to just see a set piece, big action, and walk away saying OK whatever I guess there must have been something to explain that but they just didn't show it to us.

To recap, this movie has 3 major problems: (1) no psychological depth (i.e. the personal story of the couple and how that explained the main character's motivation); (2) the magical appearance of the bad guys at one point; and (3) the big finish set piece occurring without any explanation as to how. I can guess why, just guess, but have no idea how.

So rent it when it's cheap, and while you wait, read the book (which probably does not have the above problems) or 3/4 of it, saving the last bit to surprise you in the movie.

If they go back and shoot some more scenes, add 20 minutes to fill in those gaps and you could have a great movie. The movie's under 2 hours so they actually could do that and it wouldn't be too long. But of course this will never happen.