Freeze Frame: “The Courier” (PG-13), “Rush to Judgement” (Not rated)

“The Courier” is an understated, workmanlike spy thriller, based on a true story. In the run-up to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the British spy agency MI6 recruited a reluctant businessman named Greville Wynne, solidly played by Benedict Cumberbatch, to travel to Moscow and secretly work with a mole in the Russian government. The aim was to provide the West with info on Soviet Union’s plans for their mobile nuclear missiles. The film’s a slow burn, methodically ratcheting up the tension as well as providing an interesting take on the friendship that developed between the businessman and the mole. That friendship, as it happens, had a profound impact on history. Under the direction of Dominic Cooke, “The Courier” is a bit listless at first but ultimately finds its footing as it builds to a nail-biting conclusion. Well cast and informative, “The Courier” is a modestly engaging cloak-and-dagger history lesson.

“Rush to Judgement” is a skillfully made documentary about an infamous viral video from 2019. Teenager Nick Sandmann and classmates from the Covington Catholic High School were at the Lincoln Memorial after the March for Life in Washington, D.C. At that time,  a phone video was shot that appeared to show the kids confronting and intimidating an elderly Native American man. When the video was posted on twitter, news outlets amplified misconceptions about the incident without applying appropriate journalistic scrutiny. Filmmaker Steve Oldfield exposes these missteps through probing interviews and additional video context. Available on Vimeo and video on demand, “Rush to Judgement” is thought-provoking and appropriately titled.

Your local art house theaters are offering online viewing options for a number of  intriguing movie titles. More information is available at nelson-atkins.org, Screenland.com, fineartsgroup.com and drafthouse.com.

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