By Megan Hilborne
On September 30th, I had the privilege of attending the UK premiere of The Partisan at Vue West End in Leicester Square. The premiere brought together a vibrant mix of the film’s elegantly dressed cast and crew, their family and friends, and members of the press. The atmosphere in the reception room—filled with wine, champagne, and canapés—reflected the celebratory spirit surrounding a film. I’ll admit, I wasn’t familiar with Krystyna Skarbek before watching this film. However, during the welcome drinks, I struck up a conversation with a historian who had been consulted for fact-checking on the film. She gave me a brief introduction to Krystyna’s story, which only deepened my interest in what was to come.
The film stars Morgane Polanski as Krystyna Skarbek, who is a Polish spy operating for the British during the Second World War. She becomes compromised in Warsaw after a betrayal and is thrust into a shadowy world of espionage and deceit.
I found the film somewhat lacking in its storytelling. Krystyna Skarbek clearly led an extraordinary, action-filled life, but writer and director James Marquand fell short in bringing that to the screen. As an audience member, I was unfamiliar with Skarbek’s story going in, I expected a biographical film to offer insight and context into that persons life but in this case, it didn’t deliver. The character was given minimal backstory, and the pacing made the narrative difficult to follow. Marquand, during the Q&A post-screening, was asked about the unearthing of the story and how he picked which parts of her life to show on screen to show who Starbek truly was. He answered saying they had many drafts of the script to try and “figure it out”, that it was “very difficult”, and that it was “important to think about her character more than her adventures”. Despite this, the film fails to set her character up properly and leaves the viewer with many questions. Where did she come from? What is her motivation? Where did she learn her skills?
Morgane Polanski delivers an outstanding portrayal of Krystyna Skarbek, bringing a quiet intensity and depth that truly anchors the film. Malcolm McDowell is also in the film, though he was unfortunately not in attendance at the premiere. Before the screening, a brief video message from McDowell was played, in which he expressed his admiration for Polanski’s performance, saying he wanted to “go on the record” saying he enjoyed her performance and working with her. Polanski’s performance is both mesmerising and captivating, and it ultimately rescues the film from what could have been a complete misfire.
Despite growing up in the public eye as the daughter of director Roman Polanski, Morgane remains relatively unknown as an actress. That lack of overexposure works to her advantage here; she brings an authenticity and rawness to the role, fully disappearing into the character without the star-power that tends to overshadow many performances nowadays. In many ways, the role felt tailor-made for her. It is about a Polish spy who speaks French and lives in London. With a Polish father and French mother herself, Polanski admitted during the Q&A that the part felt “too good to be true.”
McDowell’s role, by contrast, felt underdeveloped and somewhat confusing. Though his screen time is limited, he’s clearly used as the film’s marquee name. He plays a British SOE handler referred to only as “Trench-Coat,” but the character isn’t developed, leaving the audience uncertain about who he really is or what purpose he serves in the larger narrative.
The overall look of the film certainly does not struggle with its lack of budget. As producer Mathew Whyte said in the Q&A “the film looks expensive regardless of its small budget”. This is a result of the incredible work of cinematographer Karol Łakomiec who brought an immense level of authenticity to the film. I found some of the shots very visually striking leaving myself thinking of them for some time after exiting the screening. This, along with the costumes, set décor and the extras, completely transports you to Warsaw during the Second World War.
In summary, the film certainly looked the part and featured standout performances, particularly from its lead, but ultimately fell short in its writing and storytelling. I left the screening feeling underinformed about Skarbek’s life, as though I had missed several crucial chapters leading up to the events portrayed on screen. I feel the story would be better suited to a TV series to fully allow the character’s story to be fleshed out.
The Partisan is released in UK cinemas on the 3rd October 2025.
Megan Hilborne (Instagram: meghillbilly) is a freelance writer and film critic based in Portsmouth. She graduated with a degree in Film in 2020 and has continued her study of the medium in her day-to-day life. She takes particular interest in indie, horror, feminist and queer cinema.
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