Our Kind of Traitor
03/01/17 Filed in: Amazon Prime
Skimming through Amazon Prime the other evening we came across this film, which was a bit surprising as it was only released in May 2016. However, during the lead-in Amazon Prime were credited along with other producers, so that perhaps explains things.
I remember seeing the trailer at the cinema so had an inkling about the story. It's based on a John le Carré novel, so the pedigree was good.
The prologue treats us to some shady goings on involving the Russian mafia, leading to gangland executions of an apparently respectable family. This cues the main story involving Dima, a mafia money man who has become a target of his new boss, The Prince, and seeks a way to protect his family from what he sees as the inevitable outcome. To do this he befriends an innocent holiday maker, Perry, who's on holiday in Morocco with his barrister wife, Gail, she being rather too involved in her work and leaving Perry to his own devices. Dima sees Perry as an incorruptible 'good man' and entrusts him to carry information back to MI6 in Britain, as a trade for the safety of Dima's family. Unfortunately the mafia has a highly placed politician in Britain that can thwart these plans, but a tenacious MI6 agent, Hector, is prepared to ignore his superiors' orders and pursue Dima's offer. He co-opts Perry and Gail who at first are reluctant to agree to help, but as time passes Perry, and then Gail, begin to feel sympathy for Dima, despite his mafia connections and his violent background.
I remember seeing the trailer at the cinema so had an inkling about the story. It's based on a John le Carré novel, so the pedigree was good.
The prologue treats us to some shady goings on involving the Russian mafia, leading to gangland executions of an apparently respectable family. This cues the main story involving Dima, a mafia money man who has become a target of his new boss, The Prince, and seeks a way to protect his family from what he sees as the inevitable outcome. To do this he befriends an innocent holiday maker, Perry, who's on holiday in Morocco with his barrister wife, Gail, she being rather too involved in her work and leaving Perry to his own devices. Dima sees Perry as an incorruptible 'good man' and entrusts him to carry information back to MI6 in Britain, as a trade for the safety of Dima's family. Unfortunately the mafia has a highly placed politician in Britain that can thwart these plans, but a tenacious MI6 agent, Hector, is prepared to ignore his superiors' orders and pursue Dima's offer. He co-opts Perry and Gail who at first are reluctant to agree to help, but as time passes Perry, and then Gail, begin to feel sympathy for Dima, despite his mafia connections and his violent background.
It's quite a gripping story with high tension as Hector, Perry and Gail, with very limited support, manage to extract Dima and his family to safety, which is unfortunately short-lived because of the action of Dima's eldest daughter, who has a romantic entanglement with one of the men seeking to find them, and inadvertently gives away their safe location.
I won't spoil the rest of the story, but it's fair to say that the things are far from plain sailing after the safe house is discovered. And the traitorous British politician succeeds in suppressing all attempts to reveal his wrongdoings. But there's a final gift to Hector from Dima, a somewhat incongruous one, that turns out to hold one last surprise.
The cast is impressive, with Ewan McGrgor as the holidaymaker and Naomie Harris as his wife. Stellan Skarsgård is superb as Dima, while Damien Lewis plays the rogue MI6 officer.
I won't spoil the rest of the story, but it's fair to say that the things are far from plain sailing after the safe house is discovered. And the traitorous British politician succeeds in suppressing all attempts to reveal his wrongdoings. But there's a final gift to Hector from Dima, a somewhat incongruous one, that turns out to hold one last surprise.
The cast is impressive, with Ewan McGrgor as the holidaymaker and Naomie Harris as his wife. Stellan Skarsgård is superb as Dima, while Damien Lewis plays the rogue MI6 officer.