All The Old Knives  ★★★

THE title, All the Old Knives, is fitting for a new American spy thriller that is old-fashioned at its core.

Not necessarily in the plot, which centres on the investigating of a terrorist airline hijacking, but in the deep, measured tone of the interaction between those involved.

It’s directed by Dane Janus Metz Pedersen and written by Olen Steinhauer from his 2015 novel of the same name. Steinhauer was also responsible for the highly-regarded television spy drama Berlin Station.

The film starts in 2012 in Vienna with the CIA’s station dealing with a rapidly enfolding hostage drama on a Turkish commercial aircraft stuck on the runway with terrorists holding the crew and passengers ransom. Among the CIA stations staff are Henry Pelham, played by Chris Pine, and Celia Harrison (Thandiwe Newton).

We jump forward eight years and Pelham is informed by his boss, Vick Wallinger (Laurence Fishburne), that the CIA has reopened its investigation due to growing suspicions that there were information leaks from the Vienna station which impacted the ability to avert tragic outcomes.

Pelham is charged with interviewing the staff at the time in the hope he can uncover evidence or extract a confession. Among the suspects are Celia, who used to be his lover, and their old boss played by the always excellent Johnathan Pryce.

You could argue that the film is too stagey, unfolding as it does through a series of extended discussions between two people. But Pine and Newton deliver strong enough performances to transcend these restrictions and the quality of writing holds the attention.

As you would expect with a spy thriller, events do not go as planned and a couple of the twists in this one make it worth a watch for fans of the genre.