The Little Drummer Girl

Summary

“So that big romantic tour of Greece was just a come-on, wasn’t it?’” 

I love the espionage novels of John le Carré. Years ago I read his novel The Spy who Came in from the Cold, and was blown away by the unsentimental and realistic nature of his writing. Le Carré was an actual spy, and the books he wrote were some of the best to emerge from the Cold War. I have not read every Le Carré novel, but I have read a good amount. I have also enjoyed a number of the adaptations of his work with some stand out films including Martin Ritt’s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and Anton Corbin’s A Most Wanted Man. Le Carré has been pretty lucky in terms of adaptations overall. For that reason, I decided to check out Warner Archive’s recent release of George Roy Hill’s adaptation of The Little Drummer Girl. George Roy Hill was a very good director, so I had high hopes for the film. This is one of Le Carré’s novels that I have not read, so I can’t speak to how faithful the film was to the book. I watched the film and have mixed feelings about it overall.

In West Germany, a blonde with a suitcase arrives at the home of an Israeli diplomat. She announces herself as a friend from Stockholm of a daughter that lives at the house. She claims she is bringing clothes and she is buzzed in. She leaves the suitcase with a man as a young boy arrives at the home. She hops in a car. The suitcase ignites an explosive that kills the family. This was a bomb sent from a Palestinian terrorist named Kahlil. In Dorset, England, a man wearing a ski mask and a red jacket named Michel gives a speech to a crowd. His impassioned anti-Zionist speech denounces the Israelis as a group of sympathizers look on. This is Kahlil’s brother. Actress Charlie (Diane Keaton) watches the impassioned speech and she fully supports his cause. She wants the bloodshed in Palestine to end. At a performance the next day, she believes that Michel comes to see her act in a play. Roses are sent backstage, so she assumes Michel is interested in her romantically. Charlie is lured to Greece to shoot a television advertisement for a Greek wine and while there she encounters a man whom she believes to be Michel (Yorgo Voyagis.) They spark a romance, and when she agrees to help him, she is escorted to a compound where she meets Martin Kurtz (Klaus Kinski.) Michel has actually been captured, and the man with whom Charlie has been romantically involved is Joseph. Joseph and Kurtz want Charlie to help them locate Kahlil, and in order to do so, she will need to become a spy and masquerade as Michel’s lover.

The script for the film by Loring Mandel seems to be pretty well constructed. The plot is a little convoluted, but that is not unusual for some of the more labyrinthine aspects of Le Carré’s novels. While aspects of the film felt somewhat overfilled, I think Mandel did well on his script. The direction by George Roy Hill is of high quality. Hill directed some of the best films of the Sixties and Seventies (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Slap Shot, The Sting – he even managed to make a very solid Vonnegut adaptation with Slaughterhouse-Five.) His collaboration with cinematographer Wolfgang Treu does justice to the locations in the film, while never seeming overly flashy. The cinematography is not stylish, and it never distracts from the story, but the locations where the picture takes place are well highlighted. There are some good actors in the cast. Yorgo Voyagis is enjoyable as Joseph. Klaus Kinski is pretty strait-laced in the role of Kurtz and delivers a more restrained performance (which is somewhat surprising given some of his more erratic performances.) Sami Frey is also solidly cast in the role of Khalil. So, with all of these elements lined up, why is this picture not given the same classic status that some of Le Carré’s adaptations and some of George Roy Hill’s other films have been afforded? It’s simple. Diane Keaton is badly miscast as Charlie. Sporting one of the worst haircuts of that decade, Diane Keaton was completely wrong for the role. I have loved Diane Keaton in other parts – notably Woody Allen’s comedies and dramas – so, I know that she is a talented actress. Unfortunately, she can not convincingly play this role. This is one of those films where you are watching the picture and constantly thinking, “did the studio force them to cast her?” Her casting truly disrupts the efficacy of the film. In fact, the first time I watched the film, I turned it off thirty minutes in because I could not get over the juxtaposition of her acting in the film. I am glad that I returned to the picture and finished viewing it, because it has a pretty good story and some other good qualities, but viewers should definitely be aware of the casting issue. Fans of the film will find the Warner Archive release to be of very satisfactory quality, but newcomers would be advised to rent prior to a purchase.

Video

As is the case with all of Warner Archive’s releases, Warner have done a fantastic job on the restoration of The Little Drummer Girl. Presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p with an MPEG-4 AVC encode, the film looks very healthy on Blu-ray. Grain is well resolved and filmic. Fine detail is pretty good and true to the era the film was made. The direction by George Roy Hill working with cinematographer Wolfgang Treu does a solid job of capturing the numerous European locations without ever becoming flashy. The picture is understated but well constructed visually, and Warner’s transfer capably replicates the theatrical experience.

Audio

The Little Drummer Girl is given a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track that presents the original Mono track in split channels. Obviously, immersion is limited, but dialogue is presented clearly. I did not take notice of any hiss or distortion. The score comes across well. Warner does an exceptional job on their split channel Mono tracks, and fans of the picture should be pleased.

Supplements:

Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – .5/5

Overall – 3.25/5

The Little Drummer Girl has all the makings of a classic. The script by Loring Mandel adapts a spy novel by the best spy novelist of all time, John le Carré. Director George Roy Hill made some of the best films of the Sixties and Seventies. The cast has some very talented actors, and the cinematographer Wolfgang Treu worked on the film directly after working on Das Boot. Sadly the picture can not overcome the poor casting choice of Diane Keaton for the lead role as Charlie. I like Diane Keaton as an actress in films such as Interiors or Annie Hall, but she is completely unconvincing in this role and the film suffers for it. I turned the movie off after thirty minutes on my first attempt due to this issue. I am glad I returned to the film for the other elements of the picture, but most viewers will probably find this to be only worth viewing once. Warner has done a great job on the technical aspects. A rental is absolutely recommended prior to a purchase.

The film can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com.