‘The Catcher Was a Spy’

Paul Rudd in a less irreverent, more dramatic role than usual as he takes on Moe Berg, a former Major League Baseball player who goes undercover in World War II Europe.

Based on true events, Berg, an enigma in life who lived in the shadows due to his hidden sexuality, is sent on a mission to assassinate physicist Werner Heisenberg (Mark Strong), head of the Nazi nuclear program. A man of many languages, Berg is to attend a conference in Zurich.

A low-key espionage thriller from director Ben Lewin with a strong supporting cast (Tom Wilkinson, Sienna Miller, Paul Giamatti, Jeff Daniels et al), The Catcher Was a Spy is unchallenging and somewhat lifeless in spite of the best intentions from the ever likeable Rudd. The film passes the time but offers little else.

Rating: 56%

Director: Ben Lewin (The Sessions, Please Stand By)

Writer: Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot) – based on the book by Nicholas Dawidoff

Main cast: Paul Rudd (Ant-Man, The Fundamentals of Caring), Mark Strong (1917, Syriana), Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty, In the Bedroom)

‘My Cousin Rachel’

Misunderstood innocent or scheming gold-digger? Roger Michell largely keeps you guessing about cousin Rachel (a superb Rachel Weisz).

Intense close-ups, occasional tears, grubby manor houses, surly (and scruffy) servants all add to the uncertainties of Phillip (a doe-eyed Sam Claflin) for her role in the death of his guardian. Infatuation replaces revenge.

It’s a gorgeous potboiler (author Daphne du Maurier was one of Hitchcock’s favourites – that should give you a clue) with one caveat – the truly awful soundtrack (Rael Jones) that is at times cloyingly sweet and generally infuriatingly intrusive.

Rating: 64%

Director: Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Changing Lanes)

Writer: Roger Michell (TV’s The Buddha of Suburbia) – based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier

Main cast: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener, Denial), Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games, Me Before You), Holliday Grainger (The Finest Hours, The Riot Club)