Cinematic spy thrillers find a way to weave in the obligatory suspense, intrigue, and deception with complex characters in which audiences can be emotionally invested. Some are fast-paced and more of an action blockbuster, and others are a slow burn, allowing for a more suspenseful build that has big payoffs. The film adaptation of Robert Littell’s “The Amateur,” directed by James Hawes and written by Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli, is very much the latter.
Rami Malek stars as Charles Heller, an introverted CIA cryptographer working deep beneath the CIA headquarters in Langley – quite literally as his department is five levels below the surface. His work requires him to decode heavily encrypted files, and he is often seen as nothing more than the tech guy who can fix computers for guys like CIA field operative Jackson O’Brien (Jon Bernthal). That all changes for the man when Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), his wife, is killed in England by a group of terrorists.
With Director Moore (Holt McCallany) and Caleb (Danny Sapani), his CIA superiors unable to act because of geopolitical conflicts, Charles is determined to bring his wife’s killers to justice by any means necessary. When he uncovers hidden documents and cover-ups, he threatens his superiors with blackmail, saying that he set up a dead man switch and that if he doesn’t code in every five hours, these files will automatically be released to the press and public.
Charles’ demands are clear. He wants to receive mission-specific training, have all the information on the suspects involved, and have a legend that will help him get to where he needs to go. He receives all of that from Robert Henderson (Laurence Fishburne), a rugged, no-nonsense CIA trailer who gives him a fifty-fifty shot of surviving his mission of vengeance, at best – especially after watching him lack the physicality and mental toughness to be a killer. Meanwhile, Moore and Caleb rally operatives to gather all the intel they need to bury him – including tracking his previous movements in and out of the office and following his current whereabouts. And when they find what they need, Charles’ superiors want Robert to erase Charles. But by the time Charles has what he needs, he is long gone, proving that he is adept at fooling the professionals and living up to being underestimated.
“The Amateur” excels at throwing off the characters and its audience in more ways than one. Sure, it’s a spy thriller; the twists and turns are a part of the espionage game. So, the film has to rely on how Charles is an underestimated operative with an overestimated chance of survival. However, the film isn’t so much about the fights or stylized exchange of gunfire. It’s more Charlie’s journey is driven by grief, revenge, and a desire to find justice for his wife’s murder. As such, we get a more character-driven story.
By making this a more character-driven story, we become more emotionally invested in Charlie’s journey. The action doesn’t take a back seat as much as it does sit in the front alongside our hero seeking justice. As such, Charlie is more proficient in research, calculations, and formulas. That is wonderfully spotlighted when he shows Robert that he can make a bomb, which will be helpful in more ways than one.
However, a lot of internal conflict about whether or not he can be a killer comes into play. During the early days of this training, Charles could not shoot a gun accurately at a target at a standard distance. Even when Robert pressures him to shoot a live round into his chest, we see that Charles does not have the heart or the mental toughness to be a killer.
With the film being more brains than brawn, we gaze into his raw emotional response to Sarah’s murder. She serves as his guide while on this journey of vengeance. So, using his mind as his weapon, Charles bluffs and parses out his breadcrumbs just far enough to give him the distance he needs to be between himself and the CIA – who just gave him the training and paperwork he needs to complete his goals.
The film succeeds in building its tension by thrusting Charles into a game of cat and mouse, in which we don’t know which is which. While at times Charles may seem like the mouse trying to outrun the CIA, he is also keeping tabs on them by bugging their offices and using Inquiline (Caitríona Balfe) – a spy with her own history of working the American spy agencies – to help him find the killers he is looking for. Even when cornered, Charles uses his demeanor and training to throw off his pursuers.
And we come to find out that Charles’ mind is just as deadly as any gun or bomb that CIA agents or terrorists use. It is easy to see any other actor fill the role of Charles. Still, for Malek, it’s a film that spotlights the underrepresented in a genre that has long portrayed the outsider as meek and only supportive of anyone who looks like him as a villain. Here, we get to see the meek be the hero and an Egyptian-American who embarks on a global mission of revenge.
The other aspects of the film are fine. Barbara Probst’s Gretchen Frank, Marc Rissmann’s Mishka Blazhic, Joseph Millson’s Lawrence Ellish, and Michael Stuhlbarg’s Horse Schiller serve their purposes as Charles’ targets, with each of them meeting their respective fates in ways that fit Charles’ brand of justice. Once again, he’s methodical, using his research skills to use their weaknesses against them. As such, there’s no need to get to know them as the film’s early exposition shows how a botched mission caused them to panic and choose Sarah as a victim of circumstance.
While the film is set in the world of spies and espionage, it is more akin to a revenge thriller. Much of the politics and cover-ups within the CIA don’t factor into Charles’ mission other than the fact that a one-botched mission led to Sarah being the unfortunate victim. So, just as the film finds its momentum, it switches back to CIA politics, with Director Samantha O’Brien having to make sure that Moore is doing everything by the book and staying true to the morals and ethical standards the CIA abides by. It’s okay, but it doesn’t do much to service Charles’ story.
Directed by James Hawes, who uses a script written by written by Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli, based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Robert Littell, “The Amateur” is a slow-burning global episonge revenge thriller that sees Charles taking his time to bring his killers to justice. Fragmented conversations, deeply emotional moments, and the physical demands of cat-and-mouse games create a complex narrative of espionage, personal loss, and vengeance.
