Espionage thrillers, known as ‘spy movies’ in common parlance, came into prominence during the height of the Cold War and have stayed with us ever since. Apart from the secrets and intrigues of realpolitik, these movies seek to capture the perfect blend of light and shadow in a grey world.
We pick our favourite five espionage thrillers from the last decade that convey the thrills and chills of this genre.
Bridge of Spies (2015)
Set during the Cold War, Bridge of Spies chronicles the story of American lawyer James B. Donovan (played by Tom Hanks), who has been entrusted with negotiating the release of a US Air Force pilot whose plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960.
The film is directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Matt Charman along with the Coen brothers, who went on to win an Oscar for original screenplay. They have transformed the real-life incident into a riveting character study that is both thrilling and suspenseful.
Atomic Blonde (2017)
Director David Leitch’s Atomic Blonde is based on Antony Johnston’s graphic novel The Coldest City. Charlize Theron plays Lorraine Broughton in this film chronicling the last stages of the Cold War. Lorraine works for MI6 and is sent on a mission to West Germany just before the collapse of the Berlin Wall to retrieve a stolen list containing the names of secret agents. She also has to uncover a secret mole inside the British secret service.
Atomic Blonde has all the elements of a spy thriller — backstabbing, rogue agents, personal loss and loyalty towards governments. Theron’s enigmatic presence and exceptional action sequences make the movie a breezy watch. It also features James McAvoy, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan and Toby Jones in important roles.
Raazi (2018)
This Meghna Gulzar-directed movie is based on Harinder Sikka’s 2008 novel Calling Sehmat, an account of the true story of a former RAW agent. Set before the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Raazi sheds light on how at the request of her Indian freedom fighter father, Sehmat, a young Kashmiri girl, becomes a RAW agent and then gets married into a family of military officers in Pakistan to relay crucial information to India. /Sehmat eventually gets emotionally torn between her loyalty to her country and her love for the family of her husband, and it’s about how she sticks to her guns at great personal loss.
Raazi portrays Pakistani military personnel as humans rather than bloodthirsty monsters as usually depicted in typical Bollywood flicks. Alia Bhatt shines as Sehmat in the film alongside Vicky Kaushal, Rajit Kapur, Shishir Sharma and Jaideep Ahlawat.
Official Secrets (2019)
Gavin Hood’s Official Secrets is a whistleblower’s tale and focuses on the emergence of civilian espionage. This post-9/11 drama stars Keira Knightley as the British linguist-turned-whistleblower Katharine Gun, who leaked a secret memo and exposed an illegal spy operation run by both American and British intelligence to blackmail the United Nations diplomats tasked to vote on a resolution regarding the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Acclaimed by experts for its accurate portrayal of the actual events, Official Secrets also features Matt Smith, Matthew Goode, Adam Bakri, Indira Varma and Ralph Fiennes.
Tenet (2020)
Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is probably the most visually stunning film in the portfolio of espionage thrillers. It depicts the journey of a CIA agent (played by John David Washington) who has been given a single word to save the world. He must travel through time, bend the laws of nature and fight his personal demons to be successful in his mission.
The non-linear narrative of Tenet is complex and laced with sci-fi elements. Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh also feature in the film.
