In 2012, terrorists hijack Flight 127 of the Turkish Alliance airline. The Vienna station of the CIA, comprised of boss Vick Wallinger (Laurence Fishburne), agents Henry Pelham (Chris Pine) and Celia Harrison (Thandiwe Newton) and several others, jump into action and try to prevent a tragedy. At the same time, Henry asks Celia to move in with him.
Eight years later, 2020. Flight 127 has turned into a tragedy, following which Celia left both the CIA and Henry. The CIA has reopened the files of the case, convinced there must have been a leak in the Vienna station. Henry is tasked to find out if Celia, now a married civilian with two children, was the leak, and to kill her if she was.
Henry asks Celia to meet him in a nice, upscale restaurant, where they talk through exactly what happened in those fateful days...
All the Old Knives contains examples of:
- Agents Dating: In 2012, Henry and Celia are lovers and Henry asked Celia to move in with him.
- Always Save the Girl: Why Henry leaked the information. He was given the choice to save Celia or help the people on the airplane, and chose Celia.
- Black Gal on White Guy Drama: Averted. Their differing races never come up over the course of the story.
- Break His Heart to Save Him: Celia knew Henry was the leak. That's why she left, because that way she didn't have to report him to their bosses and was able to pretend to herself that she wasn't sure.
- Framing Device: All of their history is both discussed at the dinner table and shown in flashback in steady intervals.
- Hired to Hunt Himself: Henry is send to hunt for the leak. He was the leak.
- Middle Eastern Terrorists: Flight 127 was hijacked by some.
- Minimalist Cast: Most of the film is the framing device conversation between Henry and Celia, so the flashbacks have a full cast, but the main storyline in the current timeline is just the two of them.
- The Mole: The entire movie is essentially a mole hunt.
- Overt Rendezvous: Henry and Celia discuss a botched mission, including several informants that surely are CIA state secrets, in a nice upscale restaurant. It's ultimately subverted when it's revealed that the whole restaurant was in the control of the CIA.
- Professional Killer: Henry has hired one, in case Celia turns out to have been the mole.
- The Reveal: Two. Henry was the leak all along. And old source threatened to kill Celia if he didn't reveal all he knew. Celia figured out it was him, and that was why she left. And Henry was not sent to find out whether Celia was the leak. The CIA had already figured out it was him. They just wanted the details, and to kill him in a way that could be termed suicide. The whole restaurant, staff guests and all were agents, and the wine he drank was poisoned, which Celia knew. He dies at the end of the movie.
- Satellite Character: Celia's husband and children are barely named and really only feature to show that she has moved on and is definitively a civilian now.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Henry's suit is very nice.
- Tampering with Food and Drink: The wine Henry drinks was poisoned, leading to his death.
- Working with the Ex: Sort of. The fact that Celia and Henry used to be lovers and apparently quite serious with each other certainly adds extra tension to their meeting.
