All The Old Knives: Movie Review

Cast: Chris Pine, Thandiwe Newton, Jonathan Pryce, Laurence Fishburne
Director: Janus Metz Pedersen

Based on the 2015 novella of the same name Olen Steinhauer, All The Old Knives is a spy thriller with a different pace to what many of the genre may be used to.

Pine plays CIA Agent Henry Pelham, who is still dealing with the investigation into a hijacking the agency was watching that ended in disaster some 8 years ago. With everyone on board the plane killed, and an agency insider executed, it's believed that someone in a small team leaked the information, resulting in catastrophe.

The spotlight of suspicion falls on Thandiwe Newton's Celia, a fellow operative and also, just to confuse things, a former love of Pelham's. When the pair meets for a meal in a seemingly deserted restaurant for Pelham to gather evidence, reminiscences and recollections of the event start to change the investigation forever.

A deliberately paced piece that interlaces portions of the puzzle via flashbacks and apparently odd editing choices, Pedersen's All the Old Knives is actually a slow-burning thriller that some will either appreciate and others will abhor.

The bombs dropped during the encounter are of a more cerebral kind, and ones which shift the narrative in a seismic way, but only if you're invested in proceedings. While the likes of Fishburne and Pryce add solid support to proceedings, it's the Pine and Newton show which sells All The Old Knives.

With salty flecks peppering his locks and beard, Pine's almost mournful and regretful muted turn helps sell the guilt of the investigation and the weight of proceedings. Newton's also superlative too, offering a more emotional and emotive performance as the woman accused of selling out the agency and causing the death of everyone on the flight.

The mole in the agency schtick is nothing new, and in truth, a more focussed approach here makes it harder to cast the net wide in terms of potential other suspects, something which Pedersen's camera can only hide for a certain amount of time.

But thanks to some meticulous pacing, some clever laying of clues and some last minute revelations of a more personal nature, All The Old Knives manages to be a film that, if you're willing to accept its rhythms, proves to be seductively cerebral.

All The Old Knives: Movie Review is streaming on Amazon Prime Video now.