All The Old Knives (2022).

“I made a choice, and I chose you.”

Directed by Janus Metz

Written by Olen Steinhauer

Starring Chris Pine, Thandiwe Newton, Jonathan Pryce, and Lawrence Fishburne

The Stage.

Eight years ago, hijackers blew up Turkish Airlines Flight 127, killing everyone on board. Now, the file has been reopened, as new information has come to light - there was someone on the inside feeding the terrorists information. Veteran interrogator Henry Pelham is assigned to interview those involved, including his old boss and his ex-lover.

The Review.

All The Old Knives is based on a novel of the same name by Olen Steinhauer. It’s a lean political thriller, giving us only a few subjects to focus on; we know at least one person in our very small cast was involved - no one with clear motives, but each with moments for opportunity. The story unfolds over a night of dinner and drinks between Henry, played by Chris Pine, and Celia, played by Thandiwe Newton. There’s a bit of an edge to the reunion, as Henry and Celia were once lovers. Initially, we’re not sure why the relationship broke down, but as the interview is conducted over dinner and wine, we see things happening in flashbacks that add context.

The cast is great - Pryce and Fishburne play pretty limited roles, but make an impact nonetheless (as you might expect). Pryce is particularly brilliant during an interrogation scene at a pub. Newton and Pine impressed me as well and seemed to have genuine chemistry, something that was absolutely necessary in a film like this, lending believability to the rekindling of an old flame. The film flashes back to a sex scene shared eight years ago that I thought was particularly hot and a little surprising in these generally un-sexy times, and if you’re a fan of Chris Pine’s physique - which we should ALL be - you get a healthy side of cheek meat to go with your merlot.

At first the film feels like we, the audience, know a lot more than the Henry, and for the first two thirds it felt a little bit stale…but like all good political thriller, there are several twists and turns that present themselves that I genuinely did not see coming. As with real politics, there are grey areas, and you’ll probably leave the film feeling bad for some of the participants. Sure, the beats themselves are familiar, but I’ll admit that I kind of miss the sub-two-hour political thriller and this just found an itch that needed scratching. The film has a solid script and is also really well shot. It’s a very technically proficient affair, even giving us the engaging angles within the wine bar to portray the emotion lingering at the table.

The End.

This felt like a throwback to a bygone era, helped, no doubt, by having such a small scale overall that it could be filmed during COVID. I can see people arguing that it’s slow, or that it’s very “terrorist bad, CIA good”, but sometimes you want an adult story that cares about the details and highlights the skills of Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton, and on those fronts, All The Old Knives delivers. If you’re a fan of Tom Clancy books or the chatty parts of the old Harrison Ford Jack Ryan movies, this might be right up your alley. I had a good time with it. I’ll probably have forgotten I’d seen it in three months, but I liked it.