The Human Factor

As directed by the erratic Preminger and scripted by Tom Stoppard, this is pretty faithful to Graham Greene's novel about loyalty and betrayal in the espionage world, at least in terms of plot. Dealing with a couple of British agents suspected of leaking information to the Russians, it comes across well enough in its portrait of loneliness and conscience, and - despite being worthy and almost totally bereft of any real action - the plot mechanics are unusually clear for a spy movie. But the whole thing badly lacks any sort of central thematic focus, and the strangely obsessive Englishness of Greene's world is altogether missing. Craftsmanlike rather than inspired, it's watchable thanks largely to its solid performances.