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sobeautifullyobsessed · 4 years ago

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The Courier

Amazing, fantastic--but you’d expect me to say that, right? ;-)

To sum it up, I’d call it the story of two men who--though not countrymen--spoke the same essential language.

Non-spoilery comments:

Stellar performances by the whole cast, and I really enjoyed/appreciated Dominick Cooke’s style, especially his camera angles.

Benedict was as brilliant and luminous as always, and Merab Ninidze & Jessie Buckley met that same standard; I would say both Benedict & Merab deserve Oscar nods, but we know that ain’t gonna happen as it’s just the beginning of the new eligibility period and Hollywood is so empty-headed they won’t remember these gems.

Which is a crime really; Benedict’s physical transformation was gut wrenching (and ofc he had the chops to give us the emotional pain equal to the transformation), and that usually impresses, but again Hollywood=Pea Brains. More and more as each year goes by.

I understand and now applaud the name change from Ironbark to The Courier. I guarantee you will too.

I liked the ‘stache from the start, my friends (you probably knew that already); what can I say, every look works for me, when it comes to Benedict. And those pale blue eyes--well, I swear they own my soul.

Spoliery Comments under the cut:

(and do keep in mind that some of this is bound to sound shallow because I’m so gaga over BC, but I’m fully capable of appreciating his physical charms while still being blown away by his INCREDIBLE TALENT)

In a couple of the early clips/trailers I was concerned to see an emphasis on humor, of all things, when I knew how serious the story was, and considering the fate I knew awaited Greville Wynne further along. Those misgivings were entirely misplaced. Greville is such a likeable fellow, the humor fits and endears him to us, reminding us he is an ordinary man (who we eventually discover is extraordinary and heroic in ways even he never could have imagined for himself). As the story advances, it becomes darker, and the humor necessarily goes away.

A couple of scenes had the two men attend the Moscow Ballet. What a thrill at one of those times to watch BC’s Greville so enthralled by the performance of the finale of Swan Lake that he was moved to tears. That was a beautiful piece of cinema, to have the two men enjoy a final night of freedom in one another’s company, as the audience already guessed what was quickly coming to their doors.

Yes, we got a brief love scene, and an afterglow with warm, full flesh that was a lovely appetizer--but being me, I could have had a larger serving, pul-ease (winks at @thelostsmiles). Also, Stockybatch is...swoon-worthy. Especially clad in white dress shirts and braces.

The scene on the plane. Greville’s palpable fear and panic as the net tightens, set against the genuine feel of claustrophobia in the cramped passenger cabin.

If you’re familiar with the story, you know that both Wynne and Penkovsky were held and tortured for years by the KGB for their activities that contributed to turning back the Soviet threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The entire sequence of Wynne’s experience and deteriorating condition was difficult to watch, as one might expect. And for me--once they shaved Wynne’s hair and mustache off--he looked so much like our beloved Benedict, that although I intellectually knew he was playing a role, it..well...it kinda hurt. Like a sucker punch. But Benedict was so brilliant, and so quietly defiant as Wynne, that I couldn’t help but think of Tolkien’s Hobbits, who represented the English Everyman in the LOTR trilogy. Tough, stubborn survivors, born of the good, British earth (okay, why am I tearing up?)...let’s move along...

Two scenes in the prison speak volumes for both Greville and for BC’s performance. Though you watch him gradually lose massive amounts of weight, you see it mostly in his face, until his wife is allowed to visit. Let me just say, we see him from behind at first, and I gasped not because of how thin the flesh appeared on his skull, but by the stark protrusion of his shoulder blades. That’s when I started to cry for him in earnest.

But his appearance was so far surpassed by what he did in that scene. That’s the one they put up for Oscar viewer’s to judge (or would be, if...yadda yadda). Not gonna try to describe it, I couldn’t do it justice. Just watch for it, with kleenex handy. That’s the Greatest Actor of His Generation up there doing what he does best--and I daresay it is on par with his BAFTA winning turn as Patrick Melrose.

The second prison scene, was almost surely a device (this is based on a true story, but the screen also requires the finesse of the storyteller’s art) but nearly as vital as the scene described above. Greville seems to have halfway left this world already, but the KGB bring in his friend ‘Alex’ (Penkovsky), telling him that Penkovsky had given him up. Surely these men never met this way, but in giving us this scene, we see the triumph of each man’s spirit; that neither truly ever gave the other up, and they each came to this place with their souls intact. And that although Alex believed he was a failure (for everything these men did started with their primary need to make the world safe for their families) Greville was able to reveal that the nukes were removed from Cuba, and the world had Alex to thank for saving it from nuclear destruction initiated by what I believe was portrayed as an unbalanced madman, Nikita Khrushchev.

Wow- that turned out far longer than expected. I hope anyone with the opportunity to see The Courier on the big screen grabs their chance without hesitating. I’m sure it won’t be in theatres long--it’s not meant to be a moneymaker, but it’s a damn good piece of cinema. I plan to see it again, Sunday afternoon.

#The Courier (2021)#The Courier/aka Ironbark #Benedict Cumberbatch #GREATEST ACTOR OF HIS GENERATION #Greville Wynn #an ordinary man who does the heroic and extraordinary #Merab Ninidze #Jessie Buckley #Rachel Brosnahan #Dominick Cooke #SunnyMarch #Ironbarkbatch #Stockybatch

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