The Courier
Based on the incredible true story of a businessman turned spy.
2020 | 112m | English
Popularity: 3 (history)
| Director: | Dominic Cooke |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Tom O'Connor |
| Staring: |
| Cold War spy Greville Wynne and his Russian source try to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis. | |
| Release Date: | Jan 24, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Dominic Cooke |
| Writer: | Tom O'Connor |
| Genres: | Drama, Thriller, History |
| Keywords | central intelligence agency (cia), undercover, cold war, based on true story, mi6, british spy, russian spy |
| Production Companies | FilmNation Entertainment, 42, SunnyMarch |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $26,000,000
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 (Update) Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Benedict Cumberbatch | Greville Wynne |
| Merab Ninidze | Oleg Penkovsky |
| Rachel Brosnahan | Emily Donovan |
| Jessie Buckley | Sheila Wynne |
| Angus Wright | Dickie Franks |
| Kirill Pirogov | Gribanov |
| Iva Šindelková | Embassy Assistant |
| Vladimir Chuprikov | Nikita Khrushchev |
| Fred Haig | Lee |
| Emma Penzina | Nina |
| Mariya Mironova | Vera |
| Anton Lesser | Bertrand |
| Miles Richardson | Golf Exec |
| Keir Hills | Andrew Wynne |
| Petr Klimeš | Popov |
| Zeljko Ivanek | CIA Boss |
| David Bark-Jones | Golf Exec |
| Marian Lorencik | Russian Trade Delegate |
| Benny Maslov | Russian Interpreter |
| Marián Chalány | Penkovsky's Driver |
| Alice Orr-Ewing | Tamara |
| Oliver Johnstone | Lovett |
| Andruscha Hilscher | KGB Handler |
| Olga Koch | Irina |
| Jonathan Harden | Leonard |
| Elina Alminas | Doctor |
| Eysteinn Sigurdarson | Curt |
| Richard Glaves | Howard |
| Aleš Bílík | Customs Officer |
| Laurel Lefkow | Embassy Guest |
| Ondřej Malý | Mitrokhin |
| Andrey Kurganov | Russian Plane Passenger |
| James Schofield | Cox |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Nina Gold | Casting |
| Abel Korzeniowski | Original Music Composer |
| Tom O'Connor | Screenplay |
| Tariq Anwar | Editor |
| Keith Madden | Costume Design |
| Arwa Salmanova | Casting |
| Jan Kalous | Art Direction |
| Charlotte Dirickx | Set Decoration |
| Karen Hartley-Thomas | Makeup Designer |
| Andrea Koutkova | Makeup Artist |
| Dominic Cooke | Director |
| Sean Bobbitt | Director of Photography |
| Gareth C. Scales | Editor |
| Daniel Kearns | Art Direction |
| Klára Capková | Makeup Artist |
| Kim Kasim | Wigmaker |
| Donald McInnes | Makeup Artist |
| Alena Garetovskaya | Casting |
| Marek Forreiter | Dialogue Editor |
| Robert Ireland | Sound Designer |
| Joseph Stracey | Sound Effects Editor |
| Simon Trundle | Foley Editor |
| Robert Farr | Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| Paul Hanks | Foley Artist |
| John Mooney | Sound Recordist |
| James Gregory | ADR Mixer |
| Kevin Day | Standby Property Master |
| Suzie Davies | Production Design |
| Chris Lyons | Special Effects Makeup Artist |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Benedict Cumberbatch | Executive Producer |
| Rory Aitken | Producer |
| Ashley Fox | Executive Producer |
| Alison Cohen | Executive Producer |
| Dominic Cooke | Executive Producer |
| Ben Pugh | Producer |
| Donald Sabourin | Co-Producer |
| Tom O'Connor | Executive Producer |
| Ben Browning | Producer |
| Glen Basner | Executive Producer |
| Milan Popelka | Executive Producer |
| Adam Ackland | Producer |
| Leah Clarke | Executive Producer |
| Josh Varney | Executive Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 32 | 50 | 22 |
| 2024 | 5 | 41 | 53 | 26 |
| 2024 | 6 | 37 | 75 | 20 |
| 2024 | 7 | 29 | 57 | 21 |
| 2024 | 8 | 28 | 48 | 19 |
| 2024 | 9 | 20 | 27 | 15 |
| 2024 | 10 | 30 | 58 | 16 |
| 2024 | 11 | 24 | 45 | 16 |
| 2024 | 12 | 19 | 28 | 16 |
| 2025 | 1 | 24 | 41 | 15 |
| 2025 | 2 | 16 | 29 | 4 |
| 2025 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 2025 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| 2025 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 2025 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
Trending Position
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | 811 | 915 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | 261 | 712 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | 912 | 912 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | 444 | 726 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 702 | 731 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 10 | 456 | 508 |
Cumberbatch shines in this 1960's Cold War spy thriller. This movie is worth watching just for Cumberbatch's performance alone (this is probably his best so far), but he is also backed up by the talented Brosnahan and Ninidze. This film doesnt run at a fast pace, but if you have patience, it is ... a little known and extremely rewarding part of history. (More Bridge of Spies than Tom Clancy).
Well made and suspense-filled historical-thriller with another great performance from Benedict Cumberbatch. Doesn't exactly have an emotional impact but still well worth checking out. **3.75/5** ...
Excellent! It's not quite <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/bridge-of-spies/" rel="nofollow">Bridge of Spies</a>'</em>, but <em>'The Courier'</em> is too an awesome MI6/CIA/KGB infused flick. The two films tell tales regarding the Cold War, with the 2015 release narrowly a notch above thi ... s. Both have outstanding lead performances though. Benedict Cumberbatch is magnificent throughout, especially towards the end - the bald look suits him incredibly well, I must say... need him in a drug kingpin sorta role looking like that! In all seriousness though, I think this is my favourite Cumberbatch performance (from what I've seen thus far) - utterly brilliant! Merab Ninidze (also in BoS, albeit minorly) also puts in a top display, as he does in television's <em>'<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMafia" rel="nofollow">McMafia</a>'</em>. Jessie Buckley also gives a performance of note, which says a lot about her acting abilities given she doesn't feature all that heavily. Astutely paced, builds terrific tension and features some cracking acting. Fantastic film!