A Most Wanted Man is a film from 2014 based on a novel published by John le Carre eight years earlier. I haven't read the book, but apparently it is at least in part a critique of the American policy of 'extraordinary rendition'. This aspect of the story is present in the film but somewhat downplayed, and in fact it is overall quite a low-key movie, although one that has won quite a few admirers as well as one or two less favourable reactions.
The stand-out element of the film is undoubtedly the central performance, by Philip Seymour Hoffman, in what turned out, sadly, to be his last major role before his untimely death aged 46. Hoffman plays Gunther Bachman, who runs a covert German intelligence unit, and I think that - even though he wasn't the obvious person to cast as a German spy - he is convincing, because of the humanity his nuanced performance brings to the role.
The story is about Issa Karpov, a refugee from Chechnya, who arrives illegally in Germany and is helped by an idealistic immigration lawyer, well played by Rachel McAdams. Bachman is leading an investigation into a Muslim philanthropist who is suspected of channelling money to a terrorist organisation and when it turns out that Karpov is entitled to a vast amount of money held in a German bank, Hoffman persuades the banker Tommy Brue (William Dafoe, who is always good to watch) to help him snare the bad guy. But of course, in the grubby world of espionage, especially as presented by le Carre, we can always expect there to be luckless casualties of double-dealing.
I watched this film shortly after watching The Bourne Identity for the second time, and it certainly lacks the excitement of many a more straightforward thriller. It takes an age for the story to click into gear, and I feel that the script - although certainly competent - could have been pacier. However, the later stages of the film are gripping, and in any event it's worth watching for Hoffman alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment