Eye Of The Needle (1981)

During WWII, a sociopathic German spy (Donald Sutherland) who goes by the code name The Needle is washed ashore on an island off the Scottish coast during a storm when he is on his way to an assignation with a German submarine. The island has only 4 inhabitants: a bitter paraplegic (Christopher Cazenove), his wife (Kate Nelligan), their son (Jonathan and Nicholas Haley) and a drunken lighthouse keeper (Alex McCrindle). But in the end, the war will come down to two people. Based on the best selling novel by Ken Follett and directed by Richard Marquand (RETURN OF THE JEDI). The film is an exceptionally well made romantic thriller. Marquand keeps the pacing tight and while the "romantic" elements are well placed and effective, unlike inferior films of this type, it doesn't slow down the film in any way. Stanley Mann's script leaves room for the actors to develop recognizable humans instead of stock characters. Sutherland may play a sociopath but there are glimmers of how he became that way and he shows a tenderness that allows you to see why Nelligan and others would be drawn to him. This is Nelligan's film though, she gives more than a 100% and I could go on and on about the nuances that make her performance remarkable for a genre film. The fine score is by the great Miklos Rozsa. With Ian Bannen, Faith Brook and Bill Nighy.