Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote") died this past February, succumbing to drug addiction via a lethal combination of cocaine and heroin. Although fans will be able to see him in a supporting role later this month when "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1" hits theaters, his last completed leading role comes to video on November 4. While an extremely solid film in its own right, "A Most Wanted Man" will almost certainly be remembered as a fitting capstone to the tragically shortened film career of one of America's most talented and accomplished actors.
The film begins with a gaunt and haggard man illegally entering Hamburg, Germany. Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), a Chechen refugee and Muslim who was beaten and tortured in Russia, is seeking asylum, and a human rights lawyer named Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams) takes his case. Issa claims he is the rightful owner of a secret bank account being held at a bank in Hamburg. Annabel meets with a banker named Tommy Brue (Willem Dafoe), and learns that Brue's father laundered money for a brutal Russian colonel who fathered Issa by rape. As Issa's motivations are unclear — Is he who he claims to be? Is he a terrorist? What will he do with the money? — Brue scrutinizes Issa's claim but ultimately determines that the young Muslim man has a legitimate stake.
Issa's business in Hamburg attracts the attention of a handful of political players, chief among them Gunther Bachmann (Hoffman), a German intelligence agent. Bachmann is developing "resources" (informants and undercover operatives) within the local Muslim community in an effort to apprehend a well-respected Islamic philanthropist, Dr. Abdullah, suspected of funneling money to Al Qaeda, and sees Issa as a potential target for "turning." Bachmann forcibly recruits Annabel to help him manipulate Issa into setting up a sting operation on Dr. Abdullah using the money in the secret account as the bait for the trap.
What ensues is a subtle game of cat and mouse as Bachmann must find ways of pressuring and persuading the refugee, the lawyer and the banker all while negotiating, cajoling, and sparring with both German and American national security agents who would just as soon throw Issa in Guantanamo for "questioning." Bachmann argues that they have much more to gain by turning Issa and Richter, or as he explains it: "It takes a minnow to catch a barracuda, a barracuda to catch a shark."
"A Most Wanted Man" is based on a novel written by espionage author John le Carre, whose novel "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" was adapted into a 2011 film by the same name that received three Academy Award nominations. Like the previous film, "A Most Wanted Man" is far more spy drama than action thriller. This is film about politics; be they personal, ethical or international. Director Anton Corbijn ("The American") weaves a tale of ideology and psychology wrapped around such complex issues as nationalism, civil liberties, surveillance society, racial and religious profiling, and "extraordinary rendition."
What it lacks in James Bond-style action, "A Most Wanted Man" makes up with taut direction, suspense and strong, smart performances. Dafoe, Robin Wright (in a supporting role as a CIA attaché) and German actress Nina Hoss (as Buchmann's top aide and gal Freitag) all lend a much-needed blend of charm and authenticity to a screenplay that leans more towards bleak and sober. Hoss in particular stands out as an excellent foil to Bachmann, her chemistry with Hoffman wonderfully captures that kind of platonic intimacy that only comes through years of working closely together under harrowing circumstances.
These performances all the support the pillar of the film, which is of course Hoffman in what will be remembered as his last starring role before his death in February 2014. In many ways this role epitomizes Hoffman's strengths as a performer. Gunther Bachmann is at times tender, world-weary and compassionate. At others he is raging, manipulative and ruthlessly committed. Bachmann is as complex as the issues "A Most Wanted Man" examines, and as Hoffman himself.
Hoffman's career will be remembered as that of an actor of tremendous gifts matched only by his personal demons. At his best however, Hoffman's performances shine with a raw truth that laid bare his soul in a way that was as stirring as it was excruciating. In light of his death, his final exit on screen is perhaps the most poetic I can recall having ever seen. The climax of the film is an anguished howl of frustration and pain followed by a depleted silence that lingers uncomfortably as the audience breathlessly waits for closure that never comes. I can think of no better metaphor for the life and death of Philip Seymour Hoffman.
"A Most Wanted Man' comes to Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday, November 4. Special features are modest and the same for both formats. They include:
— "The Making of 'A Most Wanted Man' " featurette, notable mainly as it includes interviews about the film with Hoffman shortly before his death.
— "Spymaster: John le Carre in Hamburg" featurette about the novel's author.
— Digital download of the film.
Film: 4 Yaps Extras: 3 Yaps
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUyYBrlF_W8?rel=0&w=514&h=289]