The plot: Charlie Heller is a brilliant CIA decoder whose world comes crashing down when his wife dies in a London terrorist attack. When his supervisors refuse to take action, his intelligence becomes the ultimate weapon as he embarks on a dangerous trek across the globe to track down those responsible.
The Amateur was descent.
Pros: Rami Malek was good as the lead. I like at times it gets very intense. Laurence Fishburne was fine being the one to train Charles & I also like it was a straightforward revenge story.
Cons: I hope they done more with the storyline of this film. His co-workers are the kind of people to ask advice. There’s not that much development time for our other characters in the story & I didn’t like the pacing.
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Action, Drama
Directed by James Hawes
Produced by Hutch Parker, Dan Wilson, Rami Malek, Joel B. Michaels.
Screenplay by
Based on The Amateur by Robert Littell
Starring: Rami Malek; Rachel Brosnahan; Caitríona Balfe; Michael Stuhlbarg & Laurence Fishburne.
Edited by Jonathan Amos
Cinematography: Martin Ruhe
Music by Volker Bertelmann
Production companies: Hutch Parker Entertainment
Distributed by: 20th Century Studios
Cast:
- Rami Malek as Charles “Charlie” Heller, a CIA cryptographer and vigilante
- Laurence Fishburne as Robert “Hendo” Henderson, Charlie’s mentor
- Rachel Brosnahan as Sarah Heller, Charlie’s wife
- Caitríona Balfe as Inquiline / Davies, Charlie’s anonymous contact
- Michael Stuhlbarg as Horst Schiller, the criminal responsible for killing Charlie’s wife
- Holt McCallany as CIA Deputy Director Alex Moore, Charlie’s boss
- Julianne Nicholson as CIA Director Samantha O’Brien
- Danny Sapani as Caleb Horowitz, a CIA supervisor
- Jon Bernthal as Jackson O’Brien, a.k.a. The Bear, a CIA operative
- Adrian Martinez as Carlos, Charlie’s co-worker
- Marc Rissmann as Mishka Blazhic, one of Schiller’s accomplices
- Joseph Millson as Ellish, one of Schiller’s accomplices
- Barbara Probst as Gretchen Frank, one of Schiller’s accomplices
- Alice Hewkin as Ali Park
- Henry Garrett as the Chief of Staff
Additionally, Marthe Keller, one of the stars of the 1981 film, has a cameo appearance as a florist in Paris.
I recommend watching this film.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident film reviewer,
Level Best Art Cafe