All The Old Knives

On a bleak winter morning in Vienna, CIA Chief of Station Victor Wallinger (Laurence Fishburne) visits veteran case officer Henry Pelham (Chris Pine) and delivers some explosive news. Ilyas Shushani, the Chechen extremist who masterminded a deadly hijacking that killed more than 100 airline passengers and crew in Austria eight years ago, has been captured by the agency. During interrogation, Shushani (Orli Shuka) revealed that a mole in the Vienna station provided vital intelligence to the hijackers, resulting in the catastrophic loss of life. Faced with this new information, Henry is assigned to reopen the case of Flight 127 and identify the traitorous double agent. But the mission means revisiting painful memories and laying traps for old friends, and even for a spy as adept at compartmentalizing his emotions as Henry is, that’s no easy task. His first stop is a pub in
London, where he surprises his former superior Bill Compton (Jonathan Pryce), who was second in command in Vienna during the hijacking. Long since retired from the agency, Bill considers the incident ancient history, but Henry points out several disturbing inconsistencies in Bill’s story that suggest he knows far more than he’s letting on. With troubling details of the investigation piling up, Henry travels to Northern California, to question
another retired Vienna station colleague, Celia Harrison (Thandiwe Newton). More than just ex-coworkers, Henry and Celia were once passionate lovers, but their relationship fell apart after the hijacking disaster. When they meet for a meal together at a stylish cliffside restaurant in Carmel, romantic sparks reignite as the two seasoned spies reminisce about their bittersweet past. But as night falls and the dinner conversation
gradually turns into an interrogation, their intimate rendezvous becomes a sly cat-and-mouse game played by two experts, where the stakes are quite literally life and death. All the Old Knives is directed by Janus Metz (Armadillo, Borg vs. McEnroe) from a screenplay by Olen Steinhauer (“Berlin Station”), adapted from his novel of the same name. The film stars Chris Pine (Star Trek, Wonder Woman), Thandiwe Newton (Crash, “Westworld”), Laurence Fishburne (What’s Love Got to Do with It, “Black-ish”) and Jonathan Pryce (Brazil, The Two Popes). Producers are Steve Schwartz (The Road, The Tree of Life), Paula Mae Schwartz (The Tree of Life, Killing Them Softly), Nick Wechsler (The Player, Magic Mike) and Matt
Jackson (The Trial of the Chicago 7, Molly’s Game). Executive producers are Chris Pine, Kate Churchill (Spotlight, Encounter), Zev Foreman (Dallas Buyers Club, Antebellum), Joanne Lee (Molly’s Game, Marked Man), Drew
Comins (“Yellowjackets,” “Blood & Oil”), Mark Gordon (Saving Private Ryan, “Grey’s Anatomy”), Richard Hewitt (The Aeronauts, The 355) and Neil Burger (“Billions,” Divergent). The director of photography is Charlotte Bruus Christensen (The Hunt, A Quiet Place). Production designer is Marcus Rowland (Attack the Block, Rocketman). Costume designer is Stephanie Collie (“Peaky Blinders,” The Hitman’s Bodyguard). The film is edited by Mark Eckersley (I Care a Lot, Aeronauts) and Per Sandholt (Borg vs. McEnroe, Land of Mine). Music is composed by Jon Ekstrand (Borg vs. McEnroe, Life) and Rebekka Karijord (Nowhere Home, I Am Greta). Casting director is Jina Jay (“The Night Manager,” Dune).