FILM OF THE WEEK
Atomic Blonde
Charlize Theron was 42 last week and although she doesn’t resemble the average fortysomething, it is really gratifying to see her cast as an action heroine. David Leitch, who brought you John Wick, directs Kurt Johnstad’s screenplay from a graphic novel, and the end result is visually, and musically, stunning although it does end up being a bit style over substance. But as she proved in Mad Max: Fury Road, Theron is born for action roles.
It’s 1989 and a heavily bruised MI6 agent, Lorraine Broughton (Theron) is being debriefed following the unexpected outcome of an operation in Berlin. The story goes back to when Lorraine-without-bruises is despatched to investigate the death of an agent who was managing the defection of a Stasi officer named Spyglass (Eddie Marsan), who has a list of every operative known to the KGB. She is also on the lookout for a double agent known as Satchel. The Berlin Broughton reaches is at boiling point. The Wall is about to fall and everyone wants Spyglass. Her contact is long-time MI6 bureau chief, now gone native, David Percival (James McAvoy). But can even colleagues be trusted?
The visuals channel Nicolas Winding Refn and the soundtrack is all 1980s. Broughton is always impeccably turned-out, she jokes about it on occasion and there is a whiff of Bond. But, where Bond needs gadgets, not so Lorraine — her distinctly low-tech approach is all hand-to-hand combat, with the odd hose, stiletto heel or set of keys. The action choreography is fantastic and better directed than the film overall. Theron is totally convincing, McAvoy’s nutter schtick is wearing thin, but it’s all very watchable, Le Carre-esque, Cold War fun.