Search: Starring David Dencik

Sofie Gråbøl is superb as the troubled Chana.

Feature debutant Mikael Marcimain matches the script’s fine balance between dramatic clarity and the more ambiguous intrigues of a conspiracy thriller with some pinpoint direction.

There is a careful balance here between the big drama of the premise and the personal dramas experienced by the characters, most of whom pay no particular heed to the wider tragedy unfolding.

Jones spares none of the gory details in his depiction of the way the West really was.

Its disgusting surface is supported by a framework that’s more intelligent than in plenty of prettier films.

Amenabar would need to regress his audience back to the early Eighties for this to have any sort of suspense.

The historical reality was as much about political as personal liberty, and the film reflects that.

The film spirals towards the inevitable like a Greek tragedy written in crayon.

There is a menacing undercurrent.

The cool colours and muted emotions of this John Le Carré adaptation fit the 1973 Cold War backdrop perfectly and are appropriate for the murky world of moralistic shades of grey.

Rylance is superb throughout in a role perfectly suited to his talents.