Shadows on the Wall | The Partisan

The Partisan Skarbek

dir-scr James Marquand
prd Robert Chadaj, Mathew Whyte, Krystian Kozlowski
with Morgane Polanski, Malcolm McDowell, Ingvar Sigurdsson, Gregoire Colin, Piotr Adamczyk, Agata Kulesza, Frederick Schmidt, Steven Waddington, Andrew Schofield, Piotr Trojan, Mateusz Golawski, Dorota Landowska
release UK/Pol 3.Oct.25,
US Jan.26
24/Poland 1h48

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Based on a true story, this WWII thriller is packed with plenty of urgency, intrigue and action. Real-life Polish war hero Krystyna Skarbek was Britain's first female spy. And her love of this work is infectious. But writer-director James Marquand struggles to tell the story in a way that connects with the audience. It doesn't help that the obtuse dialog is delivered in accented and often whispery English.

In 1941, Krystyna (Polanski) is working in Hungary as a spy for shadowy British handler Trenchcoat (McDowell) when she is sent home to Warsaw on a mission. But her real goal there is to track down her mother (Kulesza). Four years later in England, Krysryna is quizzed by an interrogator (Waddington) before being sent undercover as a teacher into Nazi-occupied France. She works with spy Roger (Schmidt) and resistance leader Armand (Sigurdsson), but their plan is disastrously thwarted. So Krystyna goes even deeper undercover, running into a German officer (Adamczyk) she's met once before.

Unfolding anecdotally, the plot features the usual wartime spy beats, with secret messages, sudden betrayal and a range of friendly and not-so-friendly contacts, including plucky resistance fighters who secretly help each other while battling from the shadows. Murders are sudden and shocking, as the brutish Nazis get up to all manner of sneering violence. Amid scenes of quiet desperation, the fight gets increasingly nasty, while the music informs us when there's a big emotional moment.

Performances aren't terribly subtle, with lots of pointed eye contact and overt feelings that are only barely contained. Polanski gives Krystyna a likeable energy as a quick-thinking young woman who is fiercely independent and willing to do what it takes to stop the German reign of terror. Other figures come and go around her, some briefly emerging into focus, but none of them are able to gain much traction. As a result, Krystyna's connections with them are left feeling somewhat simplistic.

Ambitious production values make the most of the locations, and there are some impressive large-scale action sequences. These help hold the interest even as the script continually lionises Krystyna, making her look implausibly adept at every aspect of spycraft. A female-centric war movie is always worth a look, so it's a shame that this one is so difficult to engage with. And ultimately, like everything that's gone before, the film's big climactic sequences feels oddly cold.

themes, language, violence 30.Sep.25

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