Review of Our Kind of Traitor (2016) by Spangle — 13 Nov 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 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.