I am not bowled over by the movie generally; but I beg to differ with other reviewers that had a problem with Kingsley's character Pasha dropping F-bombs. This brought out something about Pasha, since he could turn on the charm to anyone he wanted to schmooze on a dime, yet out of earshot show his vindictive f-bomb dropping side. That Kingsley made that work is a credit to Kingsley's acting skills.
Generally, the movie is a garden-variety diplomat/espionage flick buoyed up by the fact that it is based on a true story, and much was done to give realism to the political events it is based on.
Review of Backstabbing for Beginners
