Director: Anton Corbijn
Screenplay: Andrew Bovell
Based on: A Most Wanted Man by John le Carré
Cast: Grigoriy Dobrygin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright
Cast: Grigoriy Dobrygin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright
Release year: 2014
Running Time: 122 minutes
Country: United Kingdom
The film's cast includes some stellar actors, most notably Philip Seymour Hoffman who is superb as an espionage agent whose only interest in life seems to be his work. Hoffman's Günther either smokes or drinks throughout much of the film but he is nothing like the suave womanizer James Bond. Günther is a very capable but tortured man who is on a mission to redeem himself after his intelligence assets in Afghanistan were compromised. Dobrygin also gives a great performance as the conflicted Issa Karpov who is ashamed of his Russian heritage because of his father's shady dealings and instead identifies with his mother, who was a Chechen Muslim. The relationship between Karpov and the lawyer Richter is filled with tension as there is clear attraction between the two of them. Rachel McAdams gives a good performance though her goody two-shoes liberal character is overshadowed by the other actors, including Willem Dafoe who is excellent as the rich banker Brue who wishes to have nothing to do with this issue.
Although the film is rather slow, it is very engaging if you pay attention and there are several interesting twists and turns. It includes several excellent performances, including Wright's minor role as Sullivan. A Most Wanted Man does not attempt to glorify the intelligence services. This is not surprising considering the character of le Carré's previous works. The author, who served in the British MI5 and MI6 during the 1950s and 60s, presents espionage as arduous and unglamorous work. This is a subtle and clever film that requires us to consider the various ethical dilemmas that espionage agents are faced with it and does seek to tell is what is right. It is the last film in which Seymour Hoffman played a leading role and for that reason alone it is worth seeing.
Image taken from Wikipedia
Running Time: 122 minutes
Country: United Kingdom
A Most Wanted is based on the eponymous novel by celebrated British writer John le Carré. Le Carré is known for the classic spy novels The Spy Who Came from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the latter of which was adapted into a feature film released in 2011. If you've seen the screen version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy you'll have some idea of what to expect from A Most Wanted Man.
This film is a slow-burner that features very little action. It does
not have a black and white dichotomy although it presents certain
characters as more sympathetic than others. Unlike many contemporary
films it has an open ending, which I personally liked very much.
The events in the book and the film are inspired by the real-life story of Murat Kurnaz. I didn't realize this before I decided to do some basic research on the film before writing this review. It made me wonder how much aristic license Le Carré employed and how different the film is from the book. However, it is not the purpose of this review to examine this question as it is concerned solely with Corbijn's film.
The story begins in Hamburg, Germany. German agent Günther Bachmann (Hoffman) and his team are investigating the activities of Muslim philanthropist Dr. Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi), who they believe is funneling money to terrorists. The team becomes aware of Issa Karpov (Dobrygin), a refugee from Chechnya who has illegally entered Germany. According to Russian intelligence he is a dangerous terrorist so they decide to track him. A local Muslim family, which lets Karpov stay in their home, contacts an immigration lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams) on his behalf. Karpov asks her to approach Tommy Brue (Dafoe), a German banker whose father used to launder money for Karpov's Russian father. Günther's team faces increasing scrutiny from German security officer Rainer Bock (Dieter Mohr) and American diplomatic attache Martha Sullivan (Wright) as it tries to turn Richter and Brue into intelligence assets.
The events in the book and the film are inspired by the real-life story of Murat Kurnaz. I didn't realize this before I decided to do some basic research on the film before writing this review. It made me wonder how much aristic license Le Carré employed and how different the film is from the book. However, it is not the purpose of this review to examine this question as it is concerned solely with Corbijn's film.
The story begins in Hamburg, Germany. German agent Günther Bachmann (Hoffman) and his team are investigating the activities of Muslim philanthropist Dr. Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi), who they believe is funneling money to terrorists. The team becomes aware of Issa Karpov (Dobrygin), a refugee from Chechnya who has illegally entered Germany. According to Russian intelligence he is a dangerous terrorist so they decide to track him. A local Muslim family, which lets Karpov stay in their home, contacts an immigration lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams) on his behalf. Karpov asks her to approach Tommy Brue (Dafoe), a German banker whose father used to launder money for Karpov's Russian father. Günther's team faces increasing scrutiny from German security officer Rainer Bock (Dieter Mohr) and American diplomatic attache Martha Sullivan (Wright) as it tries to turn Richter and Brue into intelligence assets.
The film's cast includes some stellar actors, most notably Philip Seymour Hoffman who is superb as an espionage agent whose only interest in life seems to be his work. Hoffman's Günther either smokes or drinks throughout much of the film but he is nothing like the suave womanizer James Bond. Günther is a very capable but tortured man who is on a mission to redeem himself after his intelligence assets in Afghanistan were compromised. Dobrygin also gives a great performance as the conflicted Issa Karpov who is ashamed of his Russian heritage because of his father's shady dealings and instead identifies with his mother, who was a Chechen Muslim. The relationship between Karpov and the lawyer Richter is filled with tension as there is clear attraction between the two of them. Rachel McAdams gives a good performance though her goody two-shoes liberal character is overshadowed by the other actors, including Willem Dafoe who is excellent as the rich banker Brue who wishes to have nothing to do with this issue.
Although the film is rather slow, it is very engaging if you pay attention and there are several interesting twists and turns. It includes several excellent performances, including Wright's minor role as Sullivan. A Most Wanted Man does not attempt to glorify the intelligence services. This is not surprising considering the character of le Carré's previous works. The author, who served in the British MI5 and MI6 during the 1950s and 60s, presents espionage as arduous and unglamorous work. This is a subtle and clever film that requires us to consider the various ethical dilemmas that espionage agents are faced with it and does seek to tell is what is right. It is the last film in which Seymour Hoffman played a leading role and for that reason alone it is worth seeing.
Image taken from Wikipedia
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