Our Kind of Traitor is not my kind of traitor movie. It lacks suspense, logical motivations and coherence. A globetrotting story of secret intelligence and high corruption should, at its heartiest, captivate with intrigue, solid performances and twists you can’t see coming. It has none of the above.
Sure, there’s a traitor involved, but not an interesting one. The traitor is Dima (Stellan Skarsgard), a money launderer for the Russian mafia whose new boss (Grigoriy Dobrygin) wants him dead. While on holiday in Marrakech, Dima befriends husband and wife tourists Perry (Ewan McGregor) and Gail (Naomie Harris), and asks Perry to take a disk back to London for MI6. Stupidly – probably because he’s weak-willed and has a terrible haircut – Perry agrees.
Really, disk transportation should’ve been the end of it for Perry and Gail. But the story, adapted by Hossein Amini and based on the John le Carré novel of the same name, stubbornly insists on keeping them involved. MI6 Agent Hector (Damian Lewis) tells them Dima doesn’t trust British intelligence to do right by him, so Perry and Gail need to tag along when Hector meets Dima.
Here the story strains and loses you. It’s established that Perry and Gail are in need of personal redemption, but in no way does that justify their inclusion in the rest of the plot. They owe Dima nothing, yet risk their lives to save him and his family. Anyone in their right mind would’ve said “not my problem!” to continuing to meet with Dima. Because they don’t, everything else strains credulity.
This would be more forgivable if Dima were likeable, but he’s not. He’s a loud, obnoxious brute who admits to doing bad things and is laudable only for wanting to keep his family safe. We barely get to know his tribe outside of a cursory introduction, so the audience never has an emotional investment in his loved ones.
Because we don’t care about Dima’s family – or Dima – and find Perry and Gail so stupid for allowing themselves to be involved in this situation, the whole movie falters. Director Susanna White had the pieces to construct a taut espionage thriller, but what we have instead is a labored, unsympathetic look at money laundering and personal vendettas that focuses on the wrong characters.
Le Carré’s work is often seen as the antithesis to Ian Fleming’s James Bond, meaning it’s supposed to be harsher and grittier and less fun. That’s fine, and perhaps in print Our Kind of Traitor is compelling and engaging. On screen, unfortunately, it’s neither.
OUR KIND OF TRAITOR (2) • Directed by Susanna White • Starring Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard, Damian Lewis • Rated R • 107 min. • At Century Cinemas Del Monte