It was sobering experience to sit in a quiet theater and watch as Philip Seymour Hoffman became the beleaguered, chain smoking spy Günther Bachmann in Anton Corbijn’s “A Most Wanted Man” (2014). This film was Hoffman’s final leading role before his tragic death earlier this year, the result of a cocktail of heroin, cocaine and prescription medications. A haunted yet brilliant actor who brought some of film’s most iconic characters to life, such as Truman Capote in “Capote”(2005) and Caden Cotard in “Synecdoche, New York” (2008), Hoffman struggled with drug abuse and alcoholism throughout his life. “A Most Wanted Man” is Hoffman’s swan song, and in its eerie proximity to his own life, the film provides a window into the freighted, enervated and tailspinning psyche of one of our generation’s greatest talents.
Based off John Le Carré’s 2008 novel of the same name, the film focuses on a minor anti-terrorist spy organization led by Bachmann, which must hunt down and protect the innocent ex-prisoner Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin) in Hamburg, Germany. The thriller’s main source of conflict comes takes the form of a group of British/American intelligence agents who are on a similar mission to capture Issa, but their ultimate goal is to deport him back to Russia. It’s David versus Goliath, and Bachmann’s small, cunning team runs circles around the clunky, bigheaded giant of international espionage.
It later comes to light that Issa has connections to jihadists and the prominent philanthropist Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi), who preaches his doctrine of non-violence and peace in universities yet funds terrorist organizations behind closed doors. Haunted by the “Hamburg Cell” of Mohamed Atta and his radical Islamic students who planned 9/11 attacks in Hamburg, Bachmann refuses to allow another terrorist plot to slip through his fingers. Using Issa, Bachmann seeks to take down Abdullah and his murderous beneficiaries.
Within this framework of terrorists, money laundering and no-holds-barred detective work, audience members are going to expect gun fights, bloodshed and some steamy romance as soon as they purchase their tickets at the box office. Much like “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (2011), another John le Carré novel turned film, “A Most Wanted Man” keeps the film at a very low heat, allowing tension to patiently stew through subdued dialogue rather than scorching us with fiery explosions and endless violence. The slow-burn pace may be less eye-catching, but this captures a much more realistic image of international espionage. It’s a battle of wits, not brawn.
While more realistic in its portrayal, the lack of gun-slinging secret agents and seemingly endless explosions begs the question --— can a film that really doesn’t make your heart race until the last 10 minutes be considered a thriller? The answer lies not in the film’s shortcomings, but in the semantic and presupposed limitations of the genre. Corbijn toys with thriller tropes, subverting expectations to create a near anti-thriller. Instead of a suave, “shaken-not-stirred” James Bond, we get a paunchy and fatigued “coffee ... black” Bachmann. Deep, suspended organ notes replace suspenseful violins and piercing flutes. Words take precedence over gun shots, and ultimata and patience become weapons in the hands of shrewd, savvy spies. The film may not be the most entertaining experience for the first 115 minutes, yet it pays off with a blindsiding ending that’s undoubtedly worth the wait.
Unlike Bachmann, the British CIA members use brute force and SWAT teams as they try to catch Issa, abiding by stereotypical action film motifs. The contrast between the two organizations critiques President George Bush’s employment of extraordinary rendition, when suspected terrorists were deported to countries where they would be tortured, as used against Murat Kurnaz in 2001. Kurnaz was an innocent German resident arrested and tortured for five years in Afghanistan and Guantanamo, and his story served as inspiration for le Carré’s novel.
Anchoring the drama is Bachmann himself, who knows all the angles and acts like a Tiresias, the blind prophet of Thebes, to the unknowing British spies, just waiting to say he told us so. His first words of the movie are, not surprisingly, “Yes, I know.” Bachmann’s intervening soon makes him their enemy, and in his race to save Issa and take down Abdullah, Bachmann becomes a most wanted man for the British.
Throughout his career, Hoffman was a most wanted man, considered one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors and certainly belonging to its most gifted pantheon. His frenetic life and genius as an actor translate into his endless detective work and prowess in the film. In the end, Hoffman was playing himself, a man running out of fuel in a demanding system. This is a fitting farewell.
Rating: 7.9/10
“A Most Wanted Man” is playing daily at the Nugget at 1:40 p.m., 4:10 p.m., 6:40 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.