The Little Drummer Girl

R

Released Oct 19, 1984

2h 11m

Mystery & Thriller

List

56%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

61%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

An Israeli agent (Klaus Kinski) uses a pro-Palestinian U.S. actress (Diane Keaton) as a spy to catch a terrorist bomber.

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Paul Attanasio

Washington Post

Like an enchanted escape artist, director George Roy Hill has pulled off that rarest of Hollywood feats -- the thriller of ideas.

Jan 4, 2018

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

It is so jammed with characters and incidents and mystifications that everything seems to get equal, cursory attention. And not a single one of the characters comes alive.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Lacking the penetrative inward gaze that was author John le Carré's stock in trade, George Roy Hill's 1984 adaptation of "The Little Drummer Girl" is a driftless spy thriller that smooths down its sharpest edges into dopey romance and screamy nonsense.

Rated: 1.5/5

May 2, 2024

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

This is all over the map, in more ways than one.

Rated: 2.5/4

Apr 10, 2024

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Nick Davis

Nick's Flick Picks

Stark criticisms are unavoidable, even as I'm forced to admit that the film is one of those wrongly-assembled movies that is built on such an unusual Hollywood premise...that it eventually becomes halfway fascinating.

Rated: C

Jan 5, 2012

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Lori Hoffman

Atlantic City Weekly

Rated: 3/5

Feb 1, 2006

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arya s

Not being familiar with the novel or newer TV version, this film version seems very dated in its production values and the miscasting of Keaton as an actress who would be able to pull off a life-or death role as a spy. Her hair style, ridiculous padded-shouldered outfits, static cinematography, stilted acting, all seem very ‘80s dated, especially compared to the ‘65 black and white The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, which still seems fresh and gripping. Was Charlie supposed to be somewhat silly and goofy? A actress playing an actress playing an actress requires layers of subtlety of acting, missing here. But the story is intense and intriguing, as with all Le Carre works, and makes it a worthy watch.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

uncle p

Story/Screenplay: (3/5) Despite having a somewhat interesting and unique storyline, this drama strains credibility at times. In the end, the story was OK, but was not good enough to be good. Duration/Tempo: (3/5) At 2 hours and 10 minutes, it's a very long movie that felt shorter, but it was still long. Would have liked to see it trimmed down a bit. Cast & Crew: (3.5/5) Diane Keaton was very good. Given an imperfect storyline, her performance almost saved the film. Summary: (3/5) The cast was good, but the story was only fair and the film felt like it should have been shorter. A borderline thumbs down.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I had no idea what to expect when going into The Little Drummer Girl. I was delighted when I discovered it was a somewhat realistic movie about the real world of espionage. I’ve always enjoyed these kind of films, whether they are more sensational like James Bond, or more gritty and authentic like this one. The story is a fascinating one as Israeli intelligence recruits a young American actress to infiltrate a faction of Palestinian bombers. I was riveted by some of the training and challenges that she faced, and it was shocking to see how far they would go when trying to convince her to work with them. Diane Keaton did a great job because she’s basically playing a role of someone playing a role that is then tasked with playing another role. The complexity of her situation (with all those layers of deception) is daunting and she plays it brilliantly. There are slow parts in the film, and I thought I was going to get bored, but because there was always a lingering sense of danger for our protagonist, I never quite lost interest. I found it quite satisfying how the film highlighted some of the complexities that come from an American getting involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that it asks the viewer to question who is truly the terrorist. I didn’t love some of the things that they made the protagonist do, and I struggled with the ending a bit. However, The Little Drummer Girl was overall a solid film that I would gladly watch again.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/17/20

Full Review

Audience Member

Excellent performances and a believable story. I don't understand why some reviewers took issue with it. I was engrossed by all of it, found it easy to follow, and felt it did justice to the human cost on both sides of the Israel / Palestine conflict. Worth seeing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I quite liked this film. But then again I had the hots for Diane Keaton - yeah I know I was the only bloke in the world who would admit to this. Anyway I always liked it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

What I liked most in this solid, underrated thriller was the whole complexity of its situations, alliances and strategies as seen through the eyes of a naive actress caught in the middle of a conflict and following her heart instead of any political convictions.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

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George Roy Hill

Director

Diane Keaton

Charlie

Yorgo Voyagis

Joseph

Klaus Kinski

Martin Kurtz

Sami Frey

Khalil

Michael Cristofer

Tayeh

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Synopsis

An Israeli agent (Klaus Kinski) uses a pro-Palestinian U.S. actress (Diane Keaton) as a spy to catch a terrorist bomber.

Director: George Roy Hill
Production Co: Bavaria Film, Warner Bros., Pan Arts Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 19, 1984, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 22, 2009
Runtime: 2h 11m

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