Protecting The Private Life

What first appears to be a simple shy-boy-meets-girl story turns into a surprisingly dark tale about child abuse and mental illness. It is an incredibly well handled example of an unreliable narrator, supplemented with superb acting. If you're willing to stick through its illusion of mediocrity, there's a lot of nuance to be found. 10/10

Some excellent speeches scattered throughout 2.5 hours of rambling Old English. It fails as a gripping political drama, and certainly isn't a war movie; it's merely a biography about a man whose personal life just doesn't seem interesting enough to warrant 2.5 hours. It's by no means a bad movie (the acting is exemplary), but I can't see it entertaining anyone beyond patriotic American intellectuals. 5/10

Very slow, but intentionally that way. It very methodically builds up to the final act, and makes the final scene very powerful. Whether that scene makes 2 hours of build-up worth it is up to the viewer. Nobody can argue that it's incredibly well crafted, but it's not designed to be "entertaining" in the traditional sense. It's a window into the real world of intelligence-gathering, and not spiced up in the slightest. 8/10