A Most Wanted Man (M)
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Willem Dafoe, Rachel McAdams
THIS spy film is just like espionage – boring, routine, repetitive and unrewarding.
OK, so that’s a little harsh, but this spook procedural is no Syriana, that’s for sure.
It’s probably most notable for the being the last stand of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who carries the thing like a heavy load.
The plot follows a mystery illegal immigrant who floats ashore in Hamburg – a tense town that has never really recovered from being home to the plotting 9/11 hijackers.
Hoffman plays the local spymaster tasked with stopping the next 9/11, by following characters like our mystery man up the food chain to find bigger fish.
The mystery man has money, and links to a local Islamic leader who might be about to step off the path of righteousness.
Stir in Willem Dafoe as a local banker dabbling in some grey transactions and Rachael McAdams as a lefty human rights lawyer, and you’ve got a poor man’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Everyone does their German accents quite capably. It’s a very nuanced film – the good guys aren’t all good, and the bad guys aren’t all bad, and even the good guys are trying to reach similar objectives through some very different methods.
Where it falls down is it’s just not compelling enough, there’s no action to speak of, and the big surprise and revelation comes too late in the film to salvage what came before.
It has got some critical acclaim, but it’s not on many screens and, frankly, doesn’t deserve to be on many more.
The school report would say ‘worthy effort, but must try harder’.
– Jason Beck
