A BRITISH couple (Ewan McGregor and Naomi Harries) trying to mend their marriage get involved with a Russian oligarch and high-profile money launderer while on holiday in Marrakech, Morocco. The couple soon find themselves caught between the Russian Mafia and the British Secret Service.
Directed by Sussana White, “Our Kind of Traitor” is based on John le Carré’s novel of the same name published in 2010.
Screenwriter Hossein Amini noted that one of the strengths of John le Carré’s work is that he incorporated very important themes into a roller-coaster ride of a thriller.
“The audience is thrown into the shoes of an innocent couple, and there are dangers lurking around every corner,” Amini said. “But along the way, Le Carré is also saying a lot about the world in the years post the global economic crash of 2008, and about the influence of Russia and Europe on Britain. He personalizes the story through the characters we meet along the way.”
Amini said the job at hand for the filmmakers was to craft a feature to fit into the canon of Le Carré and also to stand out within it.
“What made this stand out for me was that it is a very modern story,” she explained. “I have grown up with Le Carré, and most of his other stories have looked backwards into the past and been set in a world of darkish interiors. ‘Our Kind of Traitor’ is a big road movie, traveling across five countries.”
“Our Kind of Traitor” opens June 8 nationwide.
