A Most Wanted Man

Anton Corbijn's third feature is a solemn thriller that connects topical geo-social politics with the mundanity of everyday spycraft. It occupies the same brown-drenched bureaucratic landscape as an earlier John Le Carre adaptation, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. But while Tomas Alfredson's film was all about its dreary '70s setting, A Most Wanted Man brings the dreariness into the realm of post-9/11 (or 11/09, to give it a region-appropriate designation).

The plot is typically detailed and dense. Not so much twisty as, well, untrusting. A young Chechen man named Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin) washes up in Hamburg, seeking asylum. He's an illegal immigrant promised a vast sum of dirty money by his late father. It's money he doesn't want. Gunther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his espionage team, via an idealistic lawyer (Rachel McAdams), arrange for Karpov to donate the inheritance to a high-profile Muslim philanthropist, in order to entrap the latter as he siphons the funds into a terrorist organisation. Naturally, things get messy, and the movie spends most of its time in a very grey area indeed.

After Control and The American, Corbijn is exploring another talented, troubled man, adrift and alone in a thankless world. The film belongs to Seymour Hoffman, transforming yet again, embodying the chain-smoking, coffee-spiking, yet professional spy at the story's heart. We know few facts about Bachmann, yet we feel like we know him (which is perhaps the definition of a great screen character). He's taciturn and monotone; haggard and stooped yet quietly confident, as if he's seen it all and won enough times to keep going. Just.

So, it's an actor's movie. Robin Wright revels in a snaky supporting role, representing the brutal pragmatism of the U.S., and Rachel McAdams makes the most of a gruelling role as a woman trying to do good in a world that rewards evil equally often.

Corbijn's film doesn't give away the magician's tricks – we are usually one step behind Gunther and his crew, watching as their plans unfold and succeed or fail before our eyes. It keeps the narrative ticking along, albeit slowly.

The pace isn't my main problem – it's the insufficient sense of danger. I don't think this is to do with the lack of car chases or scarily efficient murders. What's lacking is the shadow of imminent loss. A better film starring Seymour Hoffman such as The Ides of March managed this, so why not A Most Wanted Man? Perhaps it's more generic than it first appears. I mean, once the main players are introduced, it's fairly predictable how things will turn out; who the real bad guys will be. It feels like there's a killer moment – a scene of real cinematic distinction – missing from the movie.

And what about Karpov? I never got a handle on his plight. I was never moved by his agonising principles. It's as if Corbijn is so focused on nailing the minutiae of espionage that he forgot about the subtleties of the heart.

Slow, precise, atmospheric – all good things, although this is less emotionally involving than Control and not as bold and distinctive as The American. It's a mature, well-written, ensemble film, but one which lacks the oppressive dread and nail-biting urgency to be truly memorable.

We will, however, remember its supremely talented star. In the final shot, we realise how appropriate a swansong this is for the great, big man: understated, ambiguous, and secretly sad.

Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a hard drinking German security agent spying on Hamburg's Muslim community and philanthropist Abdullah. Issa Karpov is an illegal that The Americans Martha Sullivan (Robin Wright) claims to be a Chechen terrorists. Bachmann wants to use him to make contact with an unknown banker. Refugee lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams) takes on Karpov's case. He tells her to contact banker Tommy Brue (Willem Dafoe) about a mysterious account of over 10 Million Euros left by his Russian military commander father.

It's an interesting murky spy thriller from John le Carré. However it lacks any intensity. Hoffman delivers yet another solid performance. The plot demands intense energy but the movie doesn't allow it. I don't like the fake accented English from North American actors either. It makes the movie feel artificial. All the performances are solid but heavy. Everybody is prodding. There is simply no energy, no tension and no drive.

Greetings again from the darkness. If you aren't an avid reader of John le Carre' spy novels, perhaps you've seen movie versions such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Constant Gardener, or The Russia House. If not, how about director Anton Corbijn's previous film The Amercian (2010 with George Clooney)? The more you've read and seen these, the more you are prepared for this latest.

Mr. le Carre' actually was part of MI5 and MI6 (British Intelligence) and uses his experience even so many years ago to provide the type of post 9/11 anti-terrorism spy thriller that doesn't focus on explosions and gun play, but rather the subtleties of communication when very smart people go up against other very smart people who may or may not share their goals. Secrets and misdirection abound. Traps are set, and sly maneuverings are pre-planned.

As if all that weren't enough, how about another mesmerizing performance from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman? He is a master at the top of his craft here. Sure, maybe the German accent is a bit distracting at first, but it was necessary because movie audiences needed a constant reminder that he is not playing an American! I cannot explain how this chain-smoking, mumbling schlub can so dominate a scene and disappear into a character, but Hoffman most certainly does both.

In addition to a very cool script, excellent support work comes from Grigor Dobrygin as Issa, the central figure in Hoffman's character's work, Willem Dafoe as a somewhat shady banker, as well as Robin Wright, Daniel Bruhl, Nina Hoss, Homayoun Ershadi, and Rainer Bock. The only miscast is Rachel McAdams as rich girl turned terrorist sympathizer.

Parts of the score were excellent - the droning, ominous piano notes. The composer was Herbert Gronemeyer, a German rock star (you'd never know from the score). This is a delicious, challenging look at international spies and how one never knows where they fall on the food chain ... minnow, barracuda, shark. http://moviereviewsfromthedark.com/

You are missed sir Philipp Seymour Hoffman. Brilliance in full display in this highly compelling espionage film, A Most Wanted Man. PSF simply dominates his scenes with subtlety, without the need to turn in a stagey, overcompensating effort. In the few scenes that warrants his aggression, you are absorbed by his thoughts, by his reason. He is a TRUE ARTIST. As for the film, suspense and intrigue does not let up as good vs bad takes an unclear shape, form and allegiance. Sreenplay deserves commendation as we are graciously subjected to seemingly REAL events, what actually happens behind closed doors in the world of intelligence. And that ending... 7.5/10 (probably deserves more).

Plenty of people have already said this, but it's entirely true: 9/11 unleashed a far larger terror than just devastation to two buildings and many lives; it unleashed widespread paranoia—suspicion of the average Arab and yet another division in ideologies. Guantanamo Bay, contrary to majority belief, isn't only holding convicted terrorists but those innocent men accused of such turpitude as well. Wrongfully marking, such institutions have afforded authorities the ability to aggressively interrogate and brutally torture so much as a suspect. This is the kind of monster the culprits behind 9/11 released onto the world.

A Most Wanted Man chillingly manifests the terrifying degree to which intelligence organizations are (desperately) willing to go in order to identify their targets and extract imperative information. In this case, a man named Issa (Grigoriy Dobrygin) is that target—a former detainee of both a Russian and Turkish prison, now on the run as an innocent man who's being unjustifiably chased—and seeks the assistance of a lawyer (Rachel McAdams) to safely escape the intimidating clutches of whatever intelligence agency. The late Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a spy who operates from a smaller, independent bureau that's significantly less forceful and antagonizing than the more powerful ones surrounding this prey, but still has its wide-open eyes fixed on Issa and the exact reason behind his illegal emigration to Hamburg, Germany as a Muslim.

As to expect from an Anton Corbijn film, this thriller is slower and more deliberate than most but yet definitely more absorbing and exciting than 2010's The American. It's also important to note that the film is an adaptation of the novel (the same title) written by John le Carré who has also authored gripping narratives like The Constant Gardner and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (both went on to become motion pictures as well, the former succeeding and the latter failing in my eyes). Anyway, what commences as a careful study of the crisis (numerous shots of Hoffman's character smoking in a darkly-lit vehicle and those of activity in mosques or Issa's movement around the city) quickens its pace as the stakes are finally realized and the endgame becomes clearer. From there on out, constant frustration and tension is totally expected from the audience as competing forces in the midst of the war on terror— all found in the grayer areas of principle rather than the black-and- white—vie for the upper hand.

The rest of the cast features the likes of Willem Dafoe (a banker who's connected to Issa through family friend relations), Robin Wright (a CIA agent), and Daniel Brühl (working alongside Hoffman as a computer-savvy agent). Hoffman's performance should absolutely be recognized once the end of the year approaches, again proving that he never phones it in (even when we're discussing a YA franchise like The Hunger Games). His character here is both confident in his path yet cautious at the same time, blurring our view to determine whether he's more compassionate or relentlessly unforgiving like the other agents. I also have to give props to McAdams for finally attempting something fresh at this point of her career which primarily consists of clichéd romantic comedies; herein, she doesn't have a romantic partner to latch onto for help as usual but a foreign fugitive on the brink of capture. As a result, she's smart (albeit vulnerably frightened) but only human at the same time.

In addition, the cinematography is very suiting and noteworthy—a bluish hue accompanies a substantial portion of the film as the itty-bitty details of the environment are forced to stick out (everything kept in suspense). Everything is visualized solemnly and unhurriedly, and the filmic look returns as the standard for spy thrillers. A subtle musical score gives an additional edge of anticipation to the narrative as the twists and turns emerge and the complexity of the subject matter deepens.

Now, if the climax wasn't as explosive and wholly satisfying as it was, the rest of the film in comparison would've appeared a little too meandering and eventless for most tastes. However, the subject matter and thematic material of the picture are (unfortunately) incredibly relevant in this day and age and the unpredictability of the story itself will ensue to the very last scene, therefore making this tale a mature compelling and provocative viewing of our modern world—the anguish and trepidation that has devoured us and confused our set of ethics.