All the Old Knives (1994) – Slow Burn but Riveting
Dir: Janus Metz
Cast: Chris Pine. Thandiwe Newton. Jonathan Pryce. Laurence Fishburne
Story and Script: Olen Steinhauer
It is said that the end of the Cold War also ended spy fiction as a genre, be it in print or on film. The post-1991 “unipolar” world soon proved to be a fallacy. As the West soon discovered, there were multi-polar threats ranging from the Left to the Right to others. Olen Steinhauer is a writer who has made quite an impression in this multi-polar world with sixteen novels to his credit and one TV series, Berlin Station. Berlin Station had original stories, and was so well written (and well made) that it went into three Seasons. One of his books, All the Old Knives (2015), was adapted into this spy thriller.
Watching a film adaptation of a book is always an exercise fraught with peril as one constantly compares the book and the film. I didn’t have that luxury in this case as I had not read the book. Thankfully so. For the simple reason, this is a worthy addition to the genre and displays an exceptional writing talent as the story and the screenplay are by Steinhauer.
In 2012, a Turkish Airbus A320 is hijacked to Vienna. All law enforcement officials are panicked as the hijackers have pulled the window blinds down, are out of communication, and have already killed a stewardess. The hardline Jihadist group is not known to negotiate and has always carried out its threats at the end of every deadline that they have set. The CIA Station Chief Vick Wallinger (Laurence Fishburne) puts together a team of various experts.
Lovers and field agents Celia Harrison (Thandiwe Newton) Henry Pelham (Chris Pine), and Senior hand Bill Compton (Jonathan Pryce) are part of the crisis management group. Wallinger tells everyone to go to all sources and find out as much as possible to tackle the crisis. Celia, Bill and Henry leave at different times to go out into the field to contact their sources for any information related to the Jihadist group, but they all draw blanks and return to the crisis management centre. The deadline expires, and the Jihadist group carries out its threat by killing all the hostages. Celia runs away from the crisis centre crying. Henry chases her but is unable to see her in the crowd.
It is 2020. Wallinger calls Henry and tells him the reason for the 2012 disaster. A Mole in the CIA Vienna Station had informed the hijackers. Now, it is Henry’s task to find out who the Mole is. He is given two names; Compton, the old South East Asia hand who is now retired and settled in London; and Henry’s ex-lover Celia, who is “out of the business”, married and with two children. Henry grills Compton first, who is shocked that he has been accused of being a Mole. The interview is inconclusive, and Henry threatens Compton that if there had been proof, then “there would be two large men escorting you to a Black site in Romania”.
Henry then leaves for California. He and Celia meet for dinner at a restaurant and discuss their lives. When Henry says he is taking a fresh look at the disaster, Celia says, “So this is an interrogation”. Henry narrates the story of what had transpired to date and who could be the possible Mole, asking Celia to narrate her version of the events. Henry has also employed a freelance killer, code-named Treble, who is dining in the same restaurant. In the bathroom, Treble comes in and tells “Piccolo” that all Piccolo (Henry) has to say is a Yes or a No. Henry returns from the bathroom and restarts the conversation with Celia. Celia is unaware of the killer.
To say more would be a crime. This suspense-mystery-spy thriller punches far above its weight despite the standard thin premise – a Mole Hunt. There are no car chases. No explosions. No moment-to-moment Body counts (unless you count the hostages, and that occurs offscreen as a news item). This is solid storytelling with twists and turns that leave you gasping at the grand finale which you don’t see coming at you (at least I didn’t).
Steinhauer’s script keeps jumping between the past and the present, befitting a good mystery thriller that is told entirely in flashback. The flashback gets a little longer each time as Celia and Henry narrate their stories, filling in the blanks. The stunning connection between the past and the present is then made, knocking us out for a six. This superb story will leave you feeling that spying is not what it’s cracked up to be. This is what actual spying is all about – assembling the facts, analysing them and then making a final conclusion. Just like a police detective. Except there is a moral price to be paid with one’s soul.
The dynamic of a current operative grilling his ex-lover contributes to the overall tension as we don’t know which lover will reveal what secret. If the script and camera are focused on just two people, rightly so. Through the duo’s perspective, the entire past treachery unfolds – to our shock.
All-round superb performances, but Thandiwe Newton stands out as the guilt-stricken ex-CIA employee being grilled by Henry. Celia has left the past behind her and is happily married, but the past intrudes on her present; this “troubling’ aspect is brought out by Newton very well in her performance as she ranges from happiness on seeing Henry to doubt to sadness and everything in between. Chris Pine is also the executive producer of the film. The slow, almost bucolic pace in a low-lit “wine-only” restaurant, never wavers from the final objective – finding out who the Mole is. In most scenes, the low light, almost dark photography complements the overall dark mood; very few scenes are brightly lit. Though this is set in the 21st Century, the adversaries are still from the “Classic Cold War” era. So it can easily fit in with any of the “Classic Cold War” movies.
Take out one hour and forty-one minutes of your precious time and watch All the Old Knives on Amazon Prime.
Script – 5 out of 5
Story – 5 out of 5
Direction – 5 out of 5
Photography – 4 out of 5
Total – 4.8 out of 5