A Most Wanted Man Review

Posted 9 years ago by myetvmedia

The Anton Corbijn film ‘A Most Wanted Man’ is first and foremost a profound and rich story, adapted from John le Carre’s 2008 novel of the same name. It shows the intricacies of modern spying, without becoming bogged down in the tropes of the genre. The main, thrilling aspect to the plot and cinematography is that you never quite know who is spying on whom and to what end. The relationship between intelligence and police agencies is explored, with emphasis on how they deal with the problem of radicalism and possible terror suspects. This works very well in tandem with the presentation of the actual ground-work the spies have to accomplish and the pressure they are under to complete their task in the most effective and tactile way possible. The story is set in Hamburg post 9/11 and revolves around an anti-terrorist network headed by Gunther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman). They have a 72 hour window to close in on the man they believe is responsible for massive financial backing of terrorist operations.

Corbin and screenwriter Andrew Bovell had a lot to live up to with this screen adaptation of ‘A Most Wanted Man’, with other Le Carre films such as ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ and ‘The Constant Gardener’ capturing Carre’s brilliantly intricate writing so well. The tone of the movie presents a unique approach to this adaptation, with every character in the story playing both a positive and negative role in the development of the other characters and the plot itself. The film displays this wonderfully, making you doubt your pathos with one character while restoring sympathy for another; it is difficult to find a character to root for throughout the duration of the film. The central and most riveting performance is given by Philip Seymour Hoffman in his last role before his untimely and tragic death last year. His last red carpet interviews were given at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival world premiere.

Hoffman’s character, Gunther Bachmann, is a self-destructive cynical counter-terrorist agent, who has a paternal relationship with his co-workers and informants which feels very organic and natural. What sets him and his agency apart from the Americans and other spy networks is the way they treat the players involved; as potential allies instead of enemies. Hoffman really gets into his role and portrays, even in his mannerisms and expression, the self-destructive cynic he embodies. It seems as though this would have been a difficult role to be immersed in, as nearly every scene in the movie has Bachmann drinking booze or smoking cigarettes in an effort to escape his haunted past. It is easy to see that this may be one of his best roles, but possibly one of his most personal, as it appears his self-destructive nature on screen bled into his off-screen self. The web of intrigue that is woven throughout the movie will engage those in the audience with a sense of patience and anticipation. Le Carre’s intricate web itself takes the whole movie to weave.


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A Most Wanted Man Review

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