Warning: This article contains spoilers for the movie “The Amateur”.
44 years after the novel’s release, “The Amateur” has now been adapted to a film.
Directed by James Hawes, the film centers around CIA agent Charles Heller (Rami Malek), who lives a happy life with his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) in rural Virginia. But when Sarah departs to London for a conference, Charles’ world takes a turn for the worse when he discovers his wife has died in a terrorist attack.
In a short span of time, Charles uses his decoding skills to devise a plan to travel around the world to kill those responsible for his wife’s death. After the CIA agency refuses to take action, a distraught Charles gathers incriminating documents to blackmail CIA Deputy Director Moore (Holt McCallany), using them as an advantage to gain the agency’s help in planning the operation.
“The Amateur” effectively draws the audience into Charles’ emotional journey, allowing viewers to experience his anger and sense of betrayal alongside him.
Malek delivers a strong performance as Charles, an intelligent decoder with no experience using a weapon who ultimately finds the courage to go after some of the most dangerous criminals in the world.
Another strength to this film is the star-studded talent with Jon Bernthal, Laurence Fishburne and Rachel Brosnahan. Bernthal, who plays a CIA agent, deserved to have more screen-time as he played a valuable character to the film that helped off-set the film’s growing tension.
One of the more compelling aspects of the film is the evolving relationship between Charles and his mysterious intelligence source, known as “Inquiline” in the beginning. As they meet later in the film, Inquiline is revealed to be a woman named Inquiline Davies (Caitriona Balfe), who’s also a widow who took over the role after her husband was murdered.
As Charles and Davies work together to uncover the truth and track down the suspects responsible for Sarah’s death, their shared grief creates a unique bond that adds emotional depth to the film.
The movie’s plot, while interesting, is fairly predictable. The trailer reveals the death of Charles’ wife, making the moment lack the strong emotion it could’ve had if that information was withheld.
The film also struggles with maintaining a consistent tone. At times the film feels grounded and emotionally driven, with the audience drawing into Charles’ quiet yet risk-taking character.
Some of the scenes tend to strive for realism, while other scenes resemble a spy James Bond type thriller. This difference in tone throughout the film may leave the audience disconnected from the storyline.
However, the film excels in building suspense and Malek does a great job of showcasing character depth and vulnerability as he’s affected by the death of his wife.
The cinematography helps bring the movie to life, with scenes from an international backdrop as Charles travels around the world. The movie’s soundtrack blends a variety of instruments — such as piano, orchestrated elements and electronic tunes —- to add depth to the suspense, especially in chaotic scenes throughout Charlie’s mission.
Although “The Amateur” doesn’t offer the non-stop action genre some fans might have anticipated, the film is a more meticulous, slow-approach on a spy action thriller. The film revolves around themes of despair, loss, regret and revenge as Charles has to battle between two losses — his wife and the loss of trust within the CIA agency.
“The Amateur” is out in theaters, rated PG-13.
