Middle-eastern terrorism provides the dense, perpetually timely context of The Little Drummer Girl, loyally adapted from John Le Carré's complex bestseller. It's slow going at first, taking pains to establish the tragically complicated plight of Charlie (Diane Keaton), a left-wing, pro-Palestinian actress, recruited by Israeli intelligence in 1981 to play the role of a lifetime: Once her loyalties are turned, she will lure a dominant Palestinian terrorist (Sami Frey) into a deadly trap. She's an unwitting pawn, vulnerable to romance (particularly with her Israeli recruiter, played with subtle conviction by Greek-born Yorgo Voyagis), and Keaton brings sympathetic naiveté to her character's potentially lethal dilemma. Klaus Kinski is arguably miscast as the Israeli intelligence chief, but viewers are more likely to stumble over the film's constant flow of intricate detail. The Little Drummer Girl is not always easy to follow, but attentive viewers will be rewarded, and the plot itself is, sadly, as relevant as ever. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Too good to be missing:
This film is unavailable from Block Buster or NetFlix or the library system. It is too important to be abandoned. I don't know why, if it is considered politically incorrect or too hot to handle, or what. John La Carre wrote without an agenda, showing both sides, warts and all. I plan to loan it to as many people as will watch it.
Sandi
Riveting:
Diane Keaton will never be too old! She's a masterpiece and so is this movie. The gut-wrenching decisions Keaton's character is forced to make are ones that make for truly great drama. A keeper. Not to be missed.
realistic:
Le Carre (David Cornwall) was in British Intelligence just after the war. He, if anyone, is superbly qualified to give insight into what happens in the secret world.
False colors:
George Roy Hill's film of John Le Carre's The Little Drummer Girl was, like most Le Carre adaptations, a big box-office disappointment in 1984 and has long since pretty much disappeared from sight (it's currently only on DVD in Germany). Its plot isn't the easiest of sells, it's true: to track down and kill a Palestinian terrorist, Mossad trick an actress and Palestinian sympathiser into becoming their own undercover agent, in the process revealing and stripping away the inventions and deceits she has... more info
