Though it may have wrapped production in mid-2014, Susanna White’s espionage thriller Our Kind of Traitor has struggled to make some headway in its would-be path to the silver screen. Fast forward to now, and with a UK release date penciled in for early May, we’ve arrived at the film’s intense first trailer.
Lifted from John le Carré’s titular novel, White’s adaptation has enlisted a starry cast to bring le Carré’s work to life. Headlining the ensemble as Perry and Gail are Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris, a quiet and unassuming English couple who are pulled into an international crime caper upon meeting with Stellan Skarsgård’s charming stranger.
But in the world of le Carré’s fiction, charming strangers are best kept at arm’s length, with the debut Our Kind of Traitor revealing Skarsgård’s character as the master puppeteer behind the Russian mob. What follows is a globe-trotting spy romp, with filming locations including Finland, Bern, Paris, the French Alps and Marrakech.
As the celebrated mastermind behind Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, John le Carré’s work is oft ripe for the cinematic treatment, but redeeming qualities are few and far between in today’s by-the-numbers trailer for Our Kind of Traitor.
Slated to open on May 6 in the UK, Our Kind of Traitor is still on the hunt of a US distributer, though we imagine plans will fall into place to bring Susanna White’s thriller across the pond during the summer.
While on holiday in Marrakech, an ordinary English couple, Perry (Ewan McGregor – The Impossible, The Ghost) and Gail (Naomie Harris – Spectre, Southpaw), befriend a flamboyant and charismatic Russian, Dima (Stellan Skarsgård – Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), who unbeknownst to them is a kingpin money launderer for the Russian mafia.
When Dima asks for their help to deliver classified information to the British Secret Services, Perry and Gail get caught in a dangerous world of international espionage and dirty politics. The couple is propelled on a perilous journey through Paris and Bern, a safe house in the French Alps, to the murky corners of the City of London and an alliance with the British Government via a ruthless and determined MI6 agent (Damian Lewis – Homeland).