Review of The Russia House (1990) by Daniel K — 05 Sep 2007

"The Russia House" is a Cold War espionage story based on the novel by John le Carré. The film features impressive shots of Moscow and Leningrad matched by a great score from Jerry Goldsmith. Since the film was shot in 1990, it depicts the Soviet Union in the wake of Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms and on the verge of collapse.

Leading the cast is Sean Connery, who shows an interesting character in "Barley" Blair, a British publisher that is reluctantly dragged into the world of espionage. Michelle Pfeiffer is perfect as Katya, a Russian woman involved in the intrigue. Pfeiffer's Russian accent and her nuances in speaking English were a great part of her character. The relationship between Barley and Katya is well-developed and makes the romance in the film welcome. The supporting cast is also superb, with Klaus Maria Brandauer as "Dante", James Fox as a warm yet tempered British Intelligence bureaucrat and Roy Scheider as a crass CIA bureaucrat.

The story of "The Russia House" develops slowly and thoughtfully. Those looking for a spy movie with a lot of action scenes should definitely avoid this film. I enjoyed the interesting story progression and the film's focus on character development. The film's end was a very satisfactory end to the intrigue.