Direction: Janus Metz Pedersen
Country: USA
All the Old Knives, an ill-fated love story in the guise of a neo-noir espionage thriller, doesn’t rank high within the genre. Danish director Janus Metz Pedersen worked from a script by Olen Steinhauer, who adapted his own novel of the same name. Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton take the main roles, playing former lovers and CIA agents who reconnect in a nearly empty restaurant eight years after the tragic case that tore them apart. Out of nowhere, it was found that a terrorist plane highjacking in Vienna ended catastrophically because of a wrong move of one of the CIA operatives involved. No one is above suspicion.
Applying warm tones, the film adheres firmly to its formula, bringing to life an apparent fascinating idea that quickly turns hollow by a narrative that stutters more than articulates. There's an insistently dark atmosphere that never comes to a real peak. In point of fact, most of the tension is created by the foreboding score composed by Jon Ekstrand and Rebekka Karijord, which comes in waves. While surfing the story’s murky waters with some lethargy, it came to me that this film is like a quick recycling product - we’ve already seen it and can even anticipate it.
Pine's ability to carry a sad weight on his shoulders isn't entirely lost here, but the film is nothing special. Even the resolution is simply not exciting enough.
