A Different Loyalty (2004)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Marek Kanievska

Writer (WGA):

Jim Piddock (written by)

Release Date:

14 October 2004 (Portugal)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Betrayal | Treason | Cold War | Beautiful Woman | Husband Wife Reunion

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Sharon Stone	...	Sally Tyler / Cauffield
Rupert Everett	...	Leo Cauffield
Julian Wadham	...	Andrew Darcy
Michael Cochrane	...	Dick Madsen
Anne Lambton	...	Cynthia Cauffield (as Ann Lambton)
Jim Piddock	...	George Quennell
Richard McMillan	...	Angus Petherbridge
Mimi Kuzyk	...	Leslie Quennell
Emily VanCamp	...	Jen Tyler
Tamara Hope	...	Lucy Cauffield
Mark Rendall	...	Oliver Cauffield
Damir Andrei	...	Aleksi
John Bourgeois	...	Paul Tyler
Sonja Smits	...	Fay Tolland
Edward Hibbert	...	Sir Michael Strickland

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and some language.

Runtime:

96 min | Canada:104 min (Ontario)

Country:

Canada | UK | USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:LH | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | South Korea:15 | USA:R | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Lions Gate Films

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Lenin's portrait hangs in a Moscow restaurant. In reality, portraits of Russian political leaders were only ever hung in official places, not in restaurants.

Movie Connections:

Features Korol Lir (1971)

Soundtrack:

Fascination

A Different Loyalty

Sharon Stone turned in a very strong performance as the wife of Kim Philby the British double agent. Why the producers chose not to use real names nor to do some basic research about the Soviet Union in the 1960s is a mystery.

One viewer already has made the point that many technical mistakes in the film were made. Least of which is the view of Christ the Savior Cathedral that was rebuilt in the 1990s and did not exist in Moscow in the 1960s. Additional mistakes include Aerorus instead of Aeroflot and probably the encounter that Sharon Stone had with the CIA in the USA. It would have been the FBI and any meeting would have taken place at the local Federal Building to protect the FBI agents from any accusations. The biggest error was the continual use of the word Russia or Russian for Soviet Union. When I lived in Leningrad as a student in 1974 one rarely heard the word Russia. It was only used in the context of language or culture but never in terms of governance like the Russian Embassy, Russian government etc.. in the USSR. There was great emphasis on the use of the word Soviet Union.

In general, the movie was a bit slow, there was some effort at moral equivalence between the West and the USSR but the acting was good and most viewers will draw the conclusion that a great drama was played out not only between the Philby character and his country but also with his wife and family.