A MOST WANTED MAN – The Review

John LeCarre’s A MOST WANTED MAN has the author’s usual trademarks: unique characters conveyed with shades of gray, an intricate and creative plot, and an appreciation for the complexities of international politics. The last LeCarre film adaption TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, with its meticulous Cold War details and labyrinthine cloak-and-dagger plot, required the viewer to maneuver a dense story through many twists and knots. A MOST WANTED MAN is more straightforward, yet no less engrossing and it’s anchored by a powerful performance from Phillip Seymour Hoffman in his last role.

The setting is Hamburg Germany – where some of the 9-11 hijackers had planned their attacks. Here’s where Issa Dobrygin (Grigori Dobrygin), a young, sickly, frightened Muslim from Chechnya (or is he?) washes up on shore seeking refuge after escaping from Russia. He enlists the help of mother and son Muslim émigrés from Turkey who, in turn seek help for him from Annabelle Richter (Rachel McAdams), a human rights lawyer who then involves a shady banker (Willam Dafoe) who can help access the fortune Issa may have inherited. Meanwhile, two rival spy units from the German domestic intelligence service each have Issa, whom they label a “jihadi,” in their sights, along with the Turks, the lawyer, the banker, and philanthropic Muslim cleric Dr. Faisal Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi), who they suspect of financing terrorism. A low-profile intelligence group dedicated to tracking Hamburg’s growing Muslim community is led by Gunther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) a rumpled, hard-drinking veteran of the spy wars. Bachmann’s objective is to get the goods on Abdullah through Issa, exposing the web of illegal terrorist funding being run out of Hamburg. Bachmann works with his team that includes Irna Frey (Nina Hoss) and Max (Daniel Brühl in a small role), but he needs time to develop trust with Issa, and the peril is that his rivals in other agencies, along with an unhelpful American (Robin Wright), will prematurely move in to capture both Dr. Abddullah and the possibly innocent Issa.

A MOST WANTED MAN is directed by Anton Corbijn, whose previous film, the George Clooney existential crime movie THE AMERICAN, was my favorite of 2010. That film was a masterpiece of pacing and visual storytelling, full of tense, wordless scenes. The Dutch Corbijn seems an odd choice to tackle LeCarre’s book, with its lengthy dialogs and murky musings, but he shows the same sort of confidence in storytelling that he did previously. Those who enjoy their spy thrillers punctuated with violence and action will be left cold. No bodies are left to clutter the landscape and there are no gadgets, just human beings trying to survive and outthink their opponents. It’s a spy movie in the classic sense, not the 007 or Bourne definition but the non-glamorous business of intrigue and deception, talking and listening and texting and talking some more. A MOST WANTED MAN requires patience (my way of saying that some may find it dull). Corbijn presents a dreary, overcast Hamburg where everyone speaks English in a slight German accent – you get used to it pretty quick. It’s a gloomy locale appropriate for a spy story. Hoffman plays Bachmann red-eyed, gruff and bleary, the type of part that could have descended into caricature, but under the circumstances the actor’s final role is tragically believable.

4 1/2 of 5 Stars