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In 1950 s Beirut, American artist Sally Tyler (Sharon Stone, Basic Instinct, Casino) encounters handsome London Times correspondent Leo Cauffield (RUPERT EVERETT), an articulate and educated stranger who was once the head of MI6 s counter espionage division. Unable to live with the tormented secrecy of their burgeoning relationship, Sally leaves her husband and pursues a life of adventure with the enigmatic Leo, until suddenly, he disappears without a trace. When told that Leo has defected to Communist Russia, Sally is forced to delve into his past and assemble the mysterious jigsaw that hides the shocking truth, unmasking one of the most successful and infamous spies of the Cold War era. In a thrilling life-and-death climax, she ultimately comes face-to-face with the age-old conflict between love and duty as East and West collide at a unique time in 20th century history. A Different Loyalty is based on documented real-life events.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"A Different Loyalty" may have been well intentioned, but it disappoints on two levels. For those who do not know that the plot derives (without attribution) from Eleanor Philby's memoir, "The Spy I Married," it is a rather prosaic, albeit entertaining and well-acted, romance with an espionage background (although the DVD cover is egregiously misrepresentative, depicting the main character [played by Rupert Everett], gun in hand, running from an exploding truck and hovering helicopters--something that Kim Philby [the ultimate bureaucrat] never did in his life; and, unless it has been cut from the movie, neither did Everett.). For those who do know the historical background, the film is infuriating. Even though the names of Philby, Burgess, and Maclean, et al, have been inexplicably changed (after 40-plus years), the script for the most part follows Eleanor's account carefully, making numerous allusions to actual events in Philby's life and career; towards the end, however, it suddenly veers off into the realm of fantasy, as the wife, Sally (the Eleanor surrogate), with the aid of British Intelligence, tries to persuade her husband, Leo (the Kim Philby avatar), to return to London to testify (perhaps the last thing that Whitehall wanted at the time, according to the historical sources).
The film, nevertheless, is lovely to look at, with the photogenic island of Malta standing in for Beirut of the 1960s, and the surprisingly photogenic Moscow standing in for itself. The acting is more than creditable; the children are especially good, as is the main character's double-dealing SIS 'friend'. Sharon Stone, who, with dark hair, bears a remarkable resemblance to Eleanor Philby, is believable. I was, however, left rather cold by Rupert Everett in the role of the hero (or anti-hero), even though I thought he was brilliant as the arrogantly handsome Guy Bennett (read Burgess) in "Another Country." With his perpetual well-bred sneer, Everett simply does not exude the infamous Philby charm!
The film, nevertheless, is lovely to look at, with the photogenic island of Malta standing in for Beirut of the 1960s, and the surprisingly photogenic Moscow standing in for itself. The acting is more than creditable; the children are especially good, as is the main character's double-dealing SIS 'friend'. Sharon Stone, who, with dark hair, bears a remarkable resemblance to Eleanor Philby, is believable. I was, however, left rather cold by Rupert Everett in the role of the hero (or anti-hero), even though I thought he was brilliant as the arrogantly handsome Guy Bennett (read Burgess) in "Another Country." With his perpetual well-bred sneer, Everett simply does not exude the infamous Philby charm!
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Good movie,good story and great acting. Loved it.It has been presented on a real story and not over the top action, by the way it should be and that what it makes it good.
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8 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
A Moderately Successful Romance Set Within A Fairly Unenlightening Tale Of International Espionage
13 Nov 2006
Format:DVD
Having never heard of this small picture, I was curious to check out "A Different Loyalty." Based on a true story, and starring Sharon Stone and Rupert Everett--"Loyalty" aims to tell the story of one of the most successful British spies working for the Soviets. Everett plays this agent, who helped to steal nuclear secrets from the Americans among other deeds. Facing exposure, he must turn his back on an idyllic family life and flee to Russia to live out his days.
There are moderate successes within "Loyalty" which wants to be a Cold War thriller, of sorts, but mainly thanks to Everett. His performance is a thoughtful one, and he and Stone make a credible pair. Their courtship and family life are well played and interesting. When he goes missing, however, Stone must start facing the truths about her husband.
There is a tremendous, morally complicated story to be told here--unfortunately, "A Different Loyalty" isn't quite the picture that it should have been. First of all, Everett's espionage is discussed only in superficial terms. We never see him as anything other than a somewhat sympathetic family man--not a major player in international politics. And if Stone has any actual thoughts about his betrayal to England, they are never shown. We are left with Stone's personal betrayal and wanting to bring her family back together--but not once does she question whether her husband might be a villain. What could have been a devastating treatise on love and loyalty devolves into a mundane relationship drama. The implications of Everett's actions never have an actual impact on Stone, and that's the film's ultimate undoing. If Stone doesn't try to comprehend what her husband has done, why should we? And since "Loyalty" doesn't give us much actual information to work with--it falls flat as a story we can care about.
Decent performances, but a lack of insight or fully realized potential, make this a watchable but forgettable endeavor. KGHarris, 11/06.
There are moderate successes within "Loyalty" which wants to be a Cold War thriller, of sorts, but mainly thanks to Everett. His performance is a thoughtful one, and he and Stone make a credible pair. Their courtship and family life are well played and interesting. When he goes missing, however, Stone must start facing the truths about her husband.
There is a tremendous, morally complicated story to be told here--unfortunately, "A Different Loyalty" isn't quite the picture that it should have been. First of all, Everett's espionage is discussed only in superficial terms. We never see him as anything other than a somewhat sympathetic family man--not a major player in international politics. And if Stone has any actual thoughts about his betrayal to England, they are never shown. We are left with Stone's personal betrayal and wanting to bring her family back together--but not once does she question whether her husband might be a villain. What could have been a devastating treatise on love and loyalty devolves into a mundane relationship drama. The implications of Everett's actions never have an actual impact on Stone, and that's the film's ultimate undoing. If Stone doesn't try to comprehend what her husband has done, why should we? And since "Loyalty" doesn't give us much actual information to work with--it falls flat as a story we can care about.
Decent performances, but a lack of insight or fully realized potential, make this a watchable but forgettable endeavor. KGHarris, 11/06.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Based on History
6 Feb 2006
Format:DVD
I found this a fascinating movie. It's based, of course, on the real life events of the Cambridge spies, particularly the most famous of them, Kim Philby. For some reason, they changed all the names of the spies in the movie. I don't know why they changed the names; I thought it would have been more effective if they had not.
Anyway, the film focuses on the life of Philby (a different name in the movie) and the wife he marries in Beirut. Philby famously left MI5 and took up the job of a journalist in Beirut from which position he presumably continued his work for the KGB. Upon discovering that he was about to be outted, he fled for Moscow, leaving his ignorant wife in the lurch. She at first was in denial, then travelled to Moscow and discovered the truth about her husband. In the end she separates from him, even though still being in love.
The movie portrays most Americans as boors of course. Philby is portrayed mostly sympathetically throughout despite his traitourous activities in real life (passing nuclear secrets to the Reds thereby prolonging the Cold War). However, I found the pace of the movie and the depth of character portrayal quite engrossing. Glad to have stumbled across it.
Anyway, the film focuses on the life of Philby (a different name in the movie) and the wife he marries in Beirut. Philby famously left MI5 and took up the job of a journalist in Beirut from which position he presumably continued his work for the KGB. Upon discovering that he was about to be outted, he fled for Moscow, leaving his ignorant wife in the lurch. She at first was in denial, then travelled to Moscow and discovered the truth about her husband. In the end she separates from him, even though still being in love.
The movie portrays most Americans as boors of course. Philby is portrayed mostly sympathetically throughout despite his traitourous activities in real life (passing nuclear secrets to the Reds thereby prolonging the Cold War). However, I found the pace of the movie and the depth of character portrayal quite engrossing. Glad to have stumbled across it.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
3.5 stars for Sharon Stone's multidimensional portrait and unusual mating of spy novel & romance
30 April 2007
Format:DVD
Based in part on the lives of Eleanor Philby and British spy Kim Philby (1912-1988), "A Different Loyalty" is an odd and partially successful mixture of spy novel, history, and romance.
Rupert Everett plays Leo Cauffiled (the metaphor for Kim Philby, who was said to be among the most successful double agents of the Cold War) and Stone plays wife Sally. The story begins in Beirut where the pair meet, romance, Sally divorces her diplomat husband, and the pair marry. They enjoy happiness until Leo defects.
When Sally discovers Leo has been a double agent working for the Russians, she ignores the advice of American authorities and joins him in Moscow. The film takes mostly dark and ill turns afterward, and the ending is neither preidctable, satisfying, nor pleasant. The postlude indicates Leo stayed a Soviet until his death in 1988.
This movie is a lot like a made for TV flick in its first hour. Many of the events played out over time -- such as Sally's attraction to Leo and her subsequent affair with him, then leaving her husband to marry him -- transpire in only 1-2 scenes of only a couple minutes' duration. This is one of the film's great weaknesses -- its superficial presentation of the lives of its main subjects.
The great strength in Stone's multidimensional performance as wife, sexpot, mistress, mother, ex-wife, searcher, and household beacon. She is completely credible in every role and creates empathy for her tortured persona as she first searches for her wayward husband, then finds him, then is tormented by his decision to choose Communism over wife, family, freedom and Western material largess.
The movie was filmed in New York, London, Montreal, Moscow and Malta, a Meditteranes nation off Sicily that must have been the site for the scenes in Beirut. There is no question that -- while the cinematography could easily have been more widescale and enjoyable -- the scenes in Malta and Moscow were particularly fine. The site filming added authenticity to the overall project.
Still, there are enough holes in the plot and superficiality to the story to keep this from being in the top rank. It is above average for its colluded storyline and Stone's wonderful performance. Anyone that likes spy films or romance will enjoy "A Different Loyalty".
Rupert Everett plays Leo Cauffiled (the metaphor for Kim Philby, who was said to be among the most successful double agents of the Cold War) and Stone plays wife Sally. The story begins in Beirut where the pair meet, romance, Sally divorces her diplomat husband, and the pair marry. They enjoy happiness until Leo defects.
When Sally discovers Leo has been a double agent working for the Russians, she ignores the advice of American authorities and joins him in Moscow. The film takes mostly dark and ill turns afterward, and the ending is neither preidctable, satisfying, nor pleasant. The postlude indicates Leo stayed a Soviet until his death in 1988.
This movie is a lot like a made for TV flick in its first hour. Many of the events played out over time -- such as Sally's attraction to Leo and her subsequent affair with him, then leaving her husband to marry him -- transpire in only 1-2 scenes of only a couple minutes' duration. This is one of the film's great weaknesses -- its superficial presentation of the lives of its main subjects.
The great strength in Stone's multidimensional performance as wife, sexpot, mistress, mother, ex-wife, searcher, and household beacon. She is completely credible in every role and creates empathy for her tortured persona as she first searches for her wayward husband, then finds him, then is tormented by his decision to choose Communism over wife, family, freedom and Western material largess.
The movie was filmed in New York, London, Montreal, Moscow and Malta, a Meditteranes nation off Sicily that must have been the site for the scenes in Beirut. There is no question that -- while the cinematography could easily have been more widescale and enjoyable -- the scenes in Malta and Moscow were particularly fine. The site filming added authenticity to the overall project.
Still, there are enough holes in the plot and superficiality to the story to keep this from being in the top rank. It is above average for its colluded storyline and Stone's wonderful performance. Anyone that likes spy films or romance will enjoy "A Different Loyalty".
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