The Russia House

Buy This Item The Russia House  Available from Amazon  $10.00  on 11-4-2008     Intelligent casting, strong performances, and the persuasive chemistry between Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer prove the virtues in director Fred Schepisi's well-intended but problematic screen realization of this John Le Carré espionage thriller. At its best, <I>The Russia House</I> depicts the bittersweet nuances of the pivotal affair between a weary, alcoholic London publisher (Connery) and the mysterious Russian beauty (Pfeiffer) who sends him a fateful manuscript exposing the weaknesses beneath Soviet defense technology. Connery's Barley is a gritty, all-too-human figure who's palpably revived by his awakening feelings for Pfeiffer's wan, vulnerable Katya, whose own reciprocal emotions are equally convincing. Together, they weave a poignant romantic duet.<p> The problems, meanwhile, emanate from the story line that brings these opposites together. Le Carré's novels are absorbing but typically internal odysseys that seldom offer the level of straightforward action or simple arcs of plot that the big screen thrives on. For <I>The Russia House</I>, written as <I>glasnost</I> eclipsed the cold war's overt rivalries, Le Carré means to measure how old adversaries must calibrate their battle to a more subtle, subdued match of wits. Barley himself becomes enmeshed in the mystery of the manuscript because British intelligence chooses to use him as cat's paw rather than become directly involved. Such subtlety may be a more realistic take on the spy games of the recent past, but it makes for an often tedious, talky alternative to taut heroics that Connery codified in his most celebrated early espionage role. <p> If the suspense thus suffers, we're still left with an affecting love story, as well as some convincing sniping between British and U.S. intelligence operatives, beautifully cast with James Fox, Roy Scheider, and John Mahoney. Veteran playwright Tom Stoppard brings considerable style to the dialogue, without solving the problem of giving us more than those verbal exchanges to sustain dramatic interest. <I>--Sam Sutherland</I> Reader Reviews Ok, here goes: This movie is a bit of a tough watch, and a tough one to rate. The positives are the acting - Connery, Pfeiffer, Brandenauer, etc all play their parts very well. And the settings were good - Russia looked like what we (American point of view, here) imagine it to be, and the same for Portugal... I'd like to give it more than 3 stars, just for the above reasons and the fact that I personally liked the theme. Unfortunately, the plot is tedious a la the LeCarre novels of the Karla trilogy (Tinker Tailor, Smiley's People, etc) written for 1970s pseudo-intellectualism with very little of the action we've come to expect from "spy thrillers" such as the Tom Clancey genre. The plot can leave you yawning at times and its easy to get destracted watching it unfold in the first three-quarters of the movie. And once that happens, you've lost the story. Some specific points: I mentioned the acting above, but one draw back was the somewhat stereotyped portrayal of the characters (not the actors' fault): the Brits are all understated, "old boy" public school establishment types; the Americans are brash, somewhat impatient and with some strong language; the Russians are all intellectual and fatalistic....Way too stereotypical for good character development. Connery and Pfeiffer seemed a mismatch to me, though both played their roles well. It might have come off better with a perhaps slightly younger actor for Barley (rather than Connery) or an older female actor for Katya (Pfeiffer). I think the latter would have been best. I'm uncertain as to what the denouement was meant to be: the revelation of Dante's intention with the manuscript he gave the West, or Barley meeting Pfeiffer and her family at the docks in Portugal as they defected? The music was good, but was played redundantly throughout the film. It needed at least some VARIETY. Not a bad flick, but its NOT a "spy movie". Its a drama. So be prepared to pay close attention; this isn't a casual watch.

The Russia House Available from Amazon Price: $10.00 Updated on 11-4-2008.

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