'The Courier'

Benedict Cumberbatch specializes in playing characters who are just a little too smart for their own good. As Dr. Stephen Strange, computer pioneer Alan Turing, Thomas Edison or, of course, Sherlock Holmes, he always gives a sense that there's something up his sleeve, even if the gadget might not work.

In "The Courier," however, he plays real-life salesman Greville Wynne, whose only distinguishing trait appears to be his goofy looking facial hair.

During the early 1960s, Soviet Col. Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) has become disillusioned by what he's seeing at the Kremlin. Premier Nikita Khruschev (Vladimir Chuprikov) seems determined to lead his nation on a path to nuclear doom, and Penkovsky (aka "Ironbank") wants nothing to do with it.

Penkovsky makes plans to defect and take some of his knowledge to the West. Because everyone around him could be a potential snitch, he must speak with someone the authorities don't know is part of the CIA or the UK's MI6.

That's why the latter recruits Wynne. He makes frequent trips to Warsaw Pact countries to sell his wares, and until this moment has never had any ties with the military or the intelligence establishments. Because Wynne is already in the area, the authorities are less likely to notice if he slips in and out of the country with documents.

Penkovsky dubs Wynne a "good amateur" because he has a knack for being inconspicuous. That said, what the Soviets miss, Wynne's wife Sheila (Jessie Buckley, "Wild Rose," "I'm Thinking of Ending Things") picks up right away. His home life becomes precarious as his trips to the Eastern Bloc become more frequent and seem unrelated to his business.

Despite having guidance from MI6 agent Dickie Franks (Angus Wright) and spy Emily Donovan (Rachel Brosnahan) from the CIA, even "good amateurs" can get caught.

Director Dominic Cooke and Cumberbatch previously teamed up when the latter played Richard III in "The Hollow Crown." The director has a knack for making his star punish himself physically for a role without having him descending into exaggeration. As both the Hunchback King and Wynne, Cumberbatch goes through an astonishing transformation. Cumberbatch may be playing extreme confusion, fear and frustration, but the emotions never feel phony.

Similarly, Ninidze plays hidden torment to perfection. With every KGB agent or suspicious neighbor in the country watching him, Penkovsky really can't unload his torment. He may be making detailed plans on escaping the country, but he can't tell his wife, Irina (Olga Koch).

Tom O'Connor's script doesn't have to do much to make the Cuban Missile Crisis scare, and he wisely leaves the era's justified fears alone. It's not paranoia if the chance of nuclear war is imminent. Having an innocent like Wynne involved in what James Bond creator Ian Fleming dubbed a "dirty business" adds to the tension because his service to his country comes without the expertise needed to survive it.

Because Cumberbatch is good playing experts, it's easy to imagine him handling danger with 007's finesse. For this film, however, awkward bumbling can be just as involving and heroic.