The Movie 'A Most Wanted Man'

We went to see 'A Most Wanted Man' on Monday afternoon. The movie is a spy-thriller based on the novel of the same name by John le Carre with screenplay by Andrew Bovell directed by Anton Corbijn.  Set in present day Hamburg, it centers on a team of German spies that works outside the bounds of Germany's strict espionage laws and on their efforts to entrap a well-regarded Muslim intellectual and philanthropist they suspect is providing money to Muslim terrorists.

Movie poster for 'A Most Wanted Man'.

The team is run by Gunter Bachmann (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman), a shlubby spy whose failure on a mission in Beirut has led to this assignment in Hamburg -- the decrepit port city where terrorists connected and plotted the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.  Hamburg is depicted as a washed out, washed up wasteland of grim, anonymous buildings in thin, unforgiving northern light.

Gunter's team learns of a half-Chechen, half-Russian illegal immigrant, Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), who has appeared in Hamburg's Muslim community after stints in prison in two countries -- Russia and Turkey.  Issa soon connects with Annabelle Richter (Rachel McAdams) a lawyer working for a human rights group.  With Annabelle's help, Issa contacts Tommy Brue (Willem Dafoe) the head of a somewhat shady Hamburg bank.

Meanwhile, Gunter is confronting the legitimate German intelligence authorities, headed by Dieter Mohr (Rainer Bock), who want to arrest Issa immediately.  Gunter's wait-and-see approach is supported, at least initially, by Martha Sullivan (Robin Wright) a C.I.A. agent operating in Germany.

The rivalry between the various intelligence factions and the mystery of Issa's identity and intentions provides the framework for a story of intrigue -- and the ambivalence of defining the enemy in the 'war on terror'.  It is mostly a tale of betrayal -- children betrayed by parents, parents betrayed by children, colleagues betrayed by colleagues.  You have to stay alert to catch all of the nuances in this complex, fast moving film.

There are wonderful performances from every member of the large cast.  But the glue that keeps the complicated plot from spinning out of control is Philip Seymour Hoffman's compelling central performance.  Hoffman's Gunter is a multi-faceted, multi-layered manipulator, who is ultimately out-maneuvered by both those he trusts and those he despises.  It is a performance to be honored and cherished as one of the finest, and unfortunately the last, of Hoffman's distinguished career.