The Amateur

 This review may contain spoilers!

The Amateur is an adaptation of Robert Littell's 1981 novel of the same name. In this feature, CIA cryptographer Charlie Heller goes on a one-man revenge mission after his wife is murdered in a hostage situation gone wrong. Flung into a criminal world, he is learning to understand, and with the CIA hot on his heels, Charlie will have to act smart and fast to get the justice he seeks.

There is an overarching quality to this movie that shines best: getting to watch Charlie race against the clock to get justice for his wife. When this character actually gets passionate about the need for justice, utilising his skills to blackmail a CIA Director and get his demands met so that he can get his own brand of justice is the point at which this film starts to get lively. As Charlie sets out on this journey and begins to realise he can only get these kills through his own technological savvy, we start to see a more unique quality to this revenge narrative. The way this vendetta pulls Charlie and the audience all the way up until that final confrontation with the man who pulled the trigger is a gripping moment, and the highlight of the feature. I also only wish this film had been bold enough to play with the dirty politics in the CIA storyline more; the subplot around Director Moore had good legs and could have been given more of a focus.

Jon Bernthal, who played The Bear, feels like the whole nine yards when it comes to a menacing CIA agent; Bernthal's last scene of the feature feels like a grounded moment of trying to talk someone off a ledge. Holt McCallany, who played Director Moore, emits a dangerous presence in this film; McCallany holds tremendous power and control just in how he delivers the lines. Danny Sapani, who played Caleb, has an incredible dynamic with McCallany in this; you could have replaced Fishburne entirely and have Sapani hunt Malek all movie long.

However, the best performance came from Michael Stuhlbarg, who played Schiller. I love performances that are one scene long but are the most arresting thing about the film. The Amateur is riddled with moments like this, but none trump Stuhlbarg's antagonist. He has this gentle calm to him, a general indifference that makes him one of the most threatening characters in the feature. Stuhlbarg shared the scene well, allowing for a bit of a grapple between himself and Malek. Stuhlbarg is a real threat who draws out all of the hero's weaknesses, his misgivings and low points. Stuhlbarg holds a set and becomes the focal point of it here, making his role something that truly elevates the film.

I spent a lot of this movie wondering when it was going to ramp up, when Charlie was going to become this central spy character the audience really roots for. In truth, the film only really ramps up when Charlie is committing revenge, but everything around these moments feels very lifeless. The core problem is that Charlie Heller just isn't that compelling to watch. Heller is an awkward individual who has this bold switch into an international rogue super spy, and it doesn't work for this movie. He's not interesting, and he never becomes better as a character through this journey. He even tracks down the Russian widow of an old CIA informant, pulls her into the field and gets her gunned down. He is also motivated by the death of his wife, a character who has no character beyond being 'the wife' and gets the pleasure of existing in this film to be killed and incite Charlie's big revenge quest. While out on his rogue quest, Charlie's big CIA adversary is some old, overweight trainer who gets sent after him, too. The whole film feels very poorly conceived, and feels like it wouldn't have been hard to step back and make some obvious adjustments to secure a better film.

The Amateur is also a thoroughly ugly film to spend your time watching; it is devoid of any kind of colour palette and doesn't know how to get creative with shooting a scene. The editing sets a slow pace that only agonises the trundling pace of the narrative. The score barely provides a pulse to key scenes, and the soundtrack isn't even there at all.

Rami Malek, who played Heller, really struggles to lead this film; Malek fails at being an interesting spy type or a besotted husband seeking vengeance after an emotional loss. Rachel Brosnahan, who played Sarah, had very little to work with here; Brosnahan dances about with a very shallow role and fails to make much of a connection with Malek. Adrian Martinez, who played Carlos, is rather awkward in the workplace friend role; Martinez doesn't seem to know where his character sits in this and only half commits to scenes. Julianne Nicholson, who played Director O'Brien, feels entirely miscast as the head of the CIA; Nicholson has no gravitas or authority to her, which makes this whole character fall on her face. Anna Francolini, who played Anita Garrison, has quite a dull role in this cast of characters; Francolini's therapist character doesn't draw out any significant emotional points from the lead character. Laurence Fishburne, who played Henderson, is the last actor in this cast who should have been chasing Malek around; trying to sell Fishburne as this former elite field agent on one last job made my eyes roll. Caitríona Balfe, who played Inquiline, is also just another female character placed here for an emotional death scene; Balfe's stoic deep cover character draws no further emotional weight from this script.

The spy/thriller genre is really going through it this year, and this lifeless feature led terribly by Rami Malek is no exception. I would give The Amateur a 4.5/10.