REVIEW: A Most Wanted Man

When a contemporary actor dies, their presence often takes some time to dissipate, particularly if they were still getting regular work. This means that even postmortem, films and TV shows they were cast in often continue to be released months, sometimes even years after the fact. Going to see A Most Wanted Man, one of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s final films, came embalmed in a certain melancholy for this reason, on some level it felt like he was still here. The film already did the rounds at Sundance and went on general release in the states back in July, now we finally have the chance to watch it here.

The film is based on the novel by John le Carré, a far more contemporary tale than some of his other well known works, it’s set in modern-day Hamburg and concerns itself with post-9/11 terrorism threats (being that Ziad Jarrah and several other conspirators of the attack convened there). Despite the German setting, virtually none of the cast are natives, although they all speak with Germanic accents, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo style, which is authentic enough for me, considering the strength of the cast. Aside from Hoffman, the film also stars Willem Dafoe as the wealthy owner of a bank passed down from his father and Rachel McAdams as a lawyer working for a charity that helps immigrants. You could be forgiven for thinking such a role is a little out of McAdams’ depth, but she handles it excellently (doesn’t surprise me, I hear she does car commercials, in Japan).

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Hoffman plays Günther Bachmann, the coordinator of an espionage unit, he has a particular interest in a local Muslim philanthropist who is suspected to be funding terrorists. When a suspicious Chechen refugee arrives in the city , the two cases begin to converge. It’s refreshingly easy to grasp, similar films often end up becoming overly convoluted but A Most Wanted Man never gets lost within itself. Another thing which sets it apart from other political thrillers is the emotional depth it exhibits throughout. Although nihilistic at times, each character is evokes a remarkable amount of pathos and you’re fully invested from beginning to end, even if you’re often unsure who’s on the right side. Bachmann emerges as the moral center of a callous, blood-thirsty facet of international security and Karpov, the Chechen refugee is a tragic victim of a suspicious, judgmental world.

Don’t expect to find any action here, almost all of the tension the film racks up comes from verbal exchanges (and the occasional kidnapping), but don’t think for a second that this puts it in danger of becoming boring. A remarkably tight script penned by Andrew Bovell (one third of the writing team behind Strictly Ballroom, weird/awesomely) maintains an excruciating sense of uncertainty. Hoffman is as brilliant as you might expect, the drained, jaded exemplar of peace trying to salvage an agency being beaten into submission by the ruthless higher-ups. The way he shakily attempts to maintain his swagger whilst laboured with a weary dejection and sickly complexion reminded me of Doc Holiday in Tombstone, a would-be hero trying to grasp on to his fading composure.

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Elsewhere relative newcomer Grigoriy Dobrygin impresses as the willful, terrified subject of all the governmental scrutiny and Robin Wright turns a great performance as a CIA agent trying to see eye to eye with Bachmann. From an aesthetic point of view the film does an admirable job of finding a kind of stoic beauty in the ugly, industrialised facade of Hamburg. There’s nothing overly groundbreaking or new, but all the parts fit and all the dancers know their steps. The whole thing culminates in a finale so tense and wrenching it’s likely to destroy many a fingernail, curtailed by a deeply affecting final moment that is surely one of the last highlights of Hoffman’s heartrendingly short career.

Harsh, concrete-laden thrillers are something of a running trend right now and many of them end up as little more than nihilistic drops in a glum, mopey ocean but the esoteric strength of A Most Wanted Man‘s emotional core gives it that extra glimmer of light which sets it apart. It’s far from the best John le Carré adaptation there’s ever been, but it’s an interesting, engaging piece that provides a solemn reminder of just how talented Hoffman was.

 

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