I don’t get it. The plot? Oh no, I followed that easy. I’m talking about how the last John le Carré adaptation (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) was an intense, intellectual, taut puzzle while A Most Wanted Man is still looking for a reason to call itself a thriller.
Thankfully, Most Wanted will not be the last time we see Phillip Seymour Hoffman. In Most Wanted Man, PSH isn’t a most wanted anything. Had this been one of his earlier roles, I might have concluded, “this man can’t carry a film.” I know that’s not true; I have a tremendous amount of respect for the late actor, but all he does here is smoke, drink and downplay a German accent. (The most striking part of Most Wanted is Hoffman, Willem Dafoe and Rachel McAdams showing off German accents — ok, kids, who wears it better?). Ok, there is one (1) scene in which PSH chases on foot with futility. Second film is a row this guy has pulled a Tom Cruise. Is this what drove him to an early grave?
The film itself is about espionage, albeit very one-dimensional espionage. Chechen Muslim Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin) Roosevelt D’Arby Thundercat –sorry, after those first six, I just felt like stringing together more random proper nouns — where was I? Oh yeah, Muslim dude hits Germany. Dude’s father was a terrorist. Is dude a terrorist? Let’s follow him. And here’s a letter entitling dude to a fortune. Ah, the plot thickens!
Oh, no it doesn’t. Sorry about that. Karpov makes it very clear early on he’s not a terrorist. There, unfortunately, is nary a single hint that Karpov is dogging us. In fact, Karpov has more than forty minutes of screen time and Dobrygin has chosen to spend the vast majority of it staring at the floor. Intrig
ued yet? Let’s show Hoffman smoking again.
Most Wanted isn’t a terrible film. Quite the contrary. This seems like real espionage — the powers know exactly whom to watch; the conflict happens within the power struggle. “No, it’s our turn to torture him. You tortured him last time.” Had Tailor not Tinkered with our brains, Most Wanted would look better by lack of comparison. As is, comparatively, it’s a well-acted “thriller” with a zero body count.
♪I was posing as a refuge in a Cold War bar
When I met you
You gave a tail, shaved my beard
And quizzed me for days
Adding an agenda or two
That night you raided my place
Was such good time
For all true blue
But don’t you think it’s time I lived my life on my own?
No. I guess I don’t, too.
Don’t. Don’t you most want me?
You know I can’t believe it
When you say that you won’t frisk me
Don’t. Don’t you most want me?
When you pick through my garbage
I justify your salary.♫
Rated R, 122 Minutes
D: Anton Corbijn
W: Andrew Bovell
Genre: “Thriller”
Person most likely to enjoy this film: Real life spies
Person least likely to enjoy the film: Spoiled Bourne fans
♪Parody inspired by “Don’t You Want Me”
