A Most Wanted Man (2014) [Blu-ray]
Thriller

German intelligence agent Gunther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman, in his final starring role) must race against time to solve a perilous mystery: Is the half-Chechen, half-Russian Muslim who's surfaced in Hamburg a victim seeking refuge... or a terrorist seeking revenge? Hoffman's mesmerizing turn as Bachmann will glue you to your seat until the final, shattering conclusion of this John le Carre thriller.

Storyline: When a half-Chechen, half-Russian, brutally tortured immigrant turns up in Hamburg's Islamic community, laying claim to his father's ill gotten fortune, both German and US security agencies take a close interest: as the clock ticks down and the stakes rise, the race is on to establish this most wanted man's true identity - oppressed victim or destruction-bent extremist? Based on John le Carré's novel, A MOST WANTED MAN is a contemporary, cerebral tale of intrigue, love, rivalry, and politics that prickles with tension right through to its last heart-stopping scene. Written by Roadside Attractions

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, October 27, 2014 -- At the height of the James Bond craze in 1965, when spies were seen as gallivanting womanizers with all sorts of high-tech gizmos as their beck and call, Martin Ritt brought John le Carré's thriller The Spy Who Came in from the Cold to the screen in what was a somewhat more prosaic if no less intriguing depiction of undercover operatives, one that might almost be seen as an "anti-007" entry in the then burgeoning spy genre. In much the same anachronistic fashion, Anton Corbijn's film version of le Carré's novel A Most Wanted Man works against some contemporary cinematic tropes revolving around terrorism. Instead of the hyperbolic tendencies of outings like Zero Dark Thirty, Corbijn fashions a quieter but surprisingly intense look at an anti-terror group in Hamburg, Germany attempting to prevent a replay of the horrors of September 11, 2001. Corbijn adopts a somewhat laconic and discursive approach to the subject, much as he did with his controversial The American. A Most Wanted Man features a world weary and rumpled focal character named Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman in his last leading role, one which could well bring him his final Academy Award nomination) who is haunted by past mistakes but who is intent on preventing a potential terrorist from wreaking havoc in the German port city. Bachmann finds himself surrounded by operatives with shifting allegiances, in typically knotty le Carré fashion, though the film, much like The Spy Who Came in From the Cold or indeed later le Carré adaptations like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, tends to play things fairly close to the vest, emphasizing character over action.

One of the more interesting things about A Most Wanted Man is how le Carré deals fairly discursively with two of the most contentious elements in how both professionals and the public at large deal with terrorists, or at least perceived terrorists. The first element is the baseline of suspicion that tends to run through the contemporary body politic, sometimes at the mere appearance of a Muslim. That plays into the trek of Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), a Chechin emigré who shows up suddenly in Hamburg one day and almost immediately is on the radar of a tiny anti-terrorism unit headed by Bachmann. It's initially unclear why Karpov is in Hamburg or what he's up to, but it's obvious that Bachmann and his group operate under a "suspect first" mantra, assuming that Karpov's motives are not pure, especially since it looks like his father was a ruthless Russian military commander.

Bachmann's gang seems to have an almost psychic foreknowledge of Karpov's movements (one of the film's underdeveloped aspects), and watches as he ultimately makes contact with a human rights attorney named Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams). It turns out Karpov is intent on meeting a mysterious local banker named Tommy Brue (Willem Dafoe), something that Richter helps to facilitate. Ultimately it becomes clear that Karpov's motives are more financial than explosive, but that in fact only plays into Bachmann's long sought attempts to snare a local bigwig named Dr. Faisal Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi), a Hamburg based Muslim who funds several huge charities, but whom Bachmann suspects is also funneling huge amounts of cash to terrorist groups.

Playing out against the cat and mouse game that ultimately develops between Bachmann, Karpov, Richter and Brue is another cat and mouse game Bachmann is on the receiving end of, as both other German intelligence outfits as well as an American CIA officer named Martha Sullivan (Robin Wright) get involved, much to Bachmann's chagrin. This is another somewhat underdeveloped plot point, one that plays more viscerally into the film's devastating climax but which could have used more explication and background. Without revealing too many of the twists and turns A Most Wanted Man takes, it's completely obvious that Bachmann has a handle on everything (perhaps too much of a handle—the film just kind of coasts on synchronicities quite a bit of the time), and so why meddlesome operatives would want to be working at cross purposes is never fully explained.

Le Carré is obviously adept at showing the "spy game" as a sometimes frustrating bureaucracy, but A Most Wanted Man may let Bachmann and his team overcome every seeming obstacle with a bit too much ease, at least for the benefit of any mounting suspense. While there are some shortfalls here (perhaps due to Hoffmann's untimely death), the film is often riveting and contains top rate performances all around. Hoffman, McAdams and Dafoe all do slight German accents here which manage to sound authentic without lapsing into hokiness, and Dobrygin is unforgettable despite having very little dialogue (his doleful eyes manage to convey his character's angst quite convincingly). A Most Wanted Man doesn't really have the emotional impact that The Spy Who Came in from the Cold does, perhaps because there's no real relationship at the center of the film (there are glancing hints made that Richter and Karpov as well as Bachmann and one of his underlings have romantic leanings, but nothing is ever really strongly established with either couple). The key selling point here is probably Hoffman, who manages to make spying seem like an exercise in middle management.

Another spy of perhaps more whimsical proclivities than those typically featured in le Carré novels famously used to state, "Missed it by that much!" Some cynics may aver that A Most Wanted Man falls into that category, too. While it has the requisite gravitas that defines much of le Carré's writing, it's a bit too pat and convenient at times. The film also could have benefited from fleshing out some of the back stabbing machinations that ultimately play into its denouement. Those shortcomings are probably more than offset by the superb performances, however. With strong technical merits and one last chance to see Philip Seymour Hoffman at the top of his game, A Most Wanted Man comes Recommended.

[CSW] -3.2- Phil Hoffman carries this piece brilliantly with a touch of sadness, much as we feel sad for the real events of his life and death. This is sophisticated (what I call grown-up) stuff about the effects of international spying and such on the lives of not only the terrorist targets of capture but also on those doing the spy work and all they touch. An excellent story masterfully put together with betrayals, cultural differences, great hopes, profound despair, 300 shades of grey, are seen in this human pool. It has a deliberate slow-ish rhythm since it follows the natural pace of an investigation. And the movie has a grown-up ending to boot -not a Hollywood one!
[V4.5-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.


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