All the Old Knives

All the Old Knives

8/4/2022 1h 41m 6.0/10

Overview

When the CIA discovers one of its agents leaked information that cost more than 100 people their lives, veteran operative Henry Pelham is assigned to root out the mole with his former lover and colleague Celia Harrison.

Director

Irene Chawko

Top Billed Cast

Thandiwe Newton

Thandiwe Newton

Celia Harrison

Laurence Fishburne

Laurence Fishburne

Vick Wallinger

Chris Pine

Chris Pine

Henry Pelham

Jonjo O'Neill

Jonjo O'Neill

Ernst Pul

Jonathan Pryce

Jonathan Pryce

Bill Compton

Corey Johnson

Corey Johnson

Karl Stein

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

4/23/2022

5/10

The scene is set in a fine restaurant where "Pelham" (Chris Pine) and ex-girlfriend "Celia" (Thandiwe Newton) and sharing some wine and considering who betrayed them many years earlier when their CIA operation around the hijacking of an airliner in Vienna went wrong. Ostensibly, "Pelham" is leading an investigation into the identity of the mole - it could be either of them, for all we know, or it could be their boss "Compton" (Sir Jonathan Pryce)... Sadly, though, John Le Carré this isn't. The narrative uses Pine's character as the conduit to interrogate all the potential suspects, and sadly that drags us into the solidly melodramatic aspects of his relationship with "Celia". On the plus side, that allows him to do what he has been trying to do ever since "Star Trek" (2009) - get his ass out on screen, but otherwise it is a terribly slowly paced affair. The espionage elements are largely subsumed into the relationship drama and frankly, neither Pine nor Newton have much to do in this dialogue heavy drudge of a film. It looks good, the production has a style to it; but quite simply not enough happens to keep it stimulating, the soporific lighting starts to take effects and after about 45 minutes I was really quite bored with it all. The ending is quite quirky, but it was all too little too late for me.

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