Our Kind Of Traitor

Adaptations of the prolific John le Carre's novels don't always work as well as his acclaimed books. Our Kind Of Traitor is a slow burn but will reward those who don't require the type of cinematic instant gratification offered by so many films these days.

Le Carre is credited as a writer (and executive producer) along with screenwriter Hossein Amini, while Susanna White at the helm (Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang) paces the action effectively and makes the most of Ewan McGregor's appealing screen presence. He plays Perry, a poetry professor who, while on holiday in Morocco, comes to the attention of Russian mafia identity, Dima (Stellan Skarsgard). Perry is caught up in the glamour and excess of Dima's lifestyle, and before you know it is also caught up in a dangerous game when Dima asks him to help protect his family.

Dima, who wants asylum in the UK after an associate's family was executed, asks Perry to deliver classified information to MI6 — Damian Lewis is as reliable as always as an MI6 handler — thrusting the mild-mannered academic and his lawyer partner, Gail (Spectre's Naomie Harris), into the world of espionage and high stakes money laundering.

Just why Dima chose Perry and just why Perry accepts the challenge isn't entirely satisfying — these are the kinds of details that are so much better explained in a novel — and you wonder if Our Kind Of Traitor might've been more successful as a TV series the way the brilliant Night Manager was recently. Even so, as a film it's a nice alternative for grown-ups who don't read comic books.