Review: 'The Amateur'
A tense, slow-burn spy-thriller that brings fresh tension to familiar ground.
Charles Heller (played by Rami Malek) is a nerd. Granted, he is a highly intelligent nerd working as a cryptographer for the CIA, but he is still a nerd. But with an IQ in the high 170s, his overly analytic mind misses nothing.
Well, except for the odd social cue, mind you. Let’s just say that he doesn’t get out much. Still, he’s content working from his high tech basement office in the CIA building.
But when his wife Sarah (played by Rachel Brosnahan) is killed in a terrorist attack during a business trip to London, his life is upended. Swearing revenge, Charles puts all his technical skills to work to identify the terrorists from camera feeds and other surveillance. Now he wants them dead, and he wants to kill them himself. The only problem: he’s no killer.
One would think that the higher-ups in the CIA would back his cause—but no such luck. With CIA Deputy Director Alex Moore (played by Holt McCallany) stonewalling him at every turn, Charles resorts to drastic measures: blackmail.
He leverages discrepancies he uncovered in CIA operations reports—reports that falsely pinned unsanctioned overseas missions on terrorist groups. His demand? Training as a CIA assassin, equipping him with the skills to kill the people who murdered his wife.
Charles is sent to the CIA’s training facility, known as The Farm, where he trains under Colonel Robert Henderson (played by Laurence Fishburne). It quickly becomes obvious to everyone that Charles is no killer—nerd, remember?
Still, he heads to Europe on his own, determined to eliminate the terrorists who murdered his wife. Meanwhile, CIA Deputy Director Moore is frantically trying to locate the blackmail material before it blows back on him.
The Amateur, directed by James Hawes and written by Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli, is based on Robert Littell’s 1981 novel by the same name. The novel has an earlier screen adaptation, The Amateur (1981), directed by Charles Jarrott and starring John Savage and Christopher Plummer.
While I never watched the 80s adaptation, which is, from what I hear, set in the Cold War, this new one is updated for our time. This revenge-fuelled techno-thriller follows Charles across Europe as he uses his unorthodox talents to track down his wife’s killers, gradually getting to the bottom of a conspiracy that goes deeper than he first thought.
Along the way he meets other characters, such as the highly trained CIA operative Jackson “The Bear” O'Brien (played by Jon Bernthal) and the rogue CIA spy Inquiline Davies (played by Caitríona Balfe). And as CIA Deputy Director Moore begins to panic, he sends Charles’s former trainer Colonel Robert Henderson after him to track him down and kill him.
These extra characters, from Charles’ wife Sarah to his brutal trainer—and later hunter—Colonel Henderson, add to the story, giving different perspectives on this world of international spies, assassins and terrorists.
They are a bit hit and miss, however. Rachel Brosnahan is great as Charles’ dead wife Sarah, as she appears mostly in flashbacks and stress-fuelled hallucinations on his quest to avenge her. She brings a lot of heart to the story, while also grounding Charles, steadily pulling him back from the brink.
Caitríona Balfe fills much of the same function in the story as the rogue spy Inquiline Davies. In hiding from just about everyone, this tragic character who helps Charles in his mission also gives a much-needed sense of peace and heart, making Charles question his purpose.
Laurence Fishburne is also excellent as the brutal Colonel Henderson. His character could easily have become a steroetypical military officer, but Fishburne gives him a lot of depth and soul, making him both complicated and interesting.
However, while Jon Bernthal is good as the roaming CIA operative Jackson “The Bear” O'Brien. His role in the story seems primarily designed to highlight what physical skills Charles lacks to complete his revenge.
That said, I thought Bernthal was underutilized—his character had the potential to add more depth or tension to the film, but instead felt like a missed opportunity due to limited screen time and minimal narrative impact.
And of course, you have the regular, almost caricature characters that the genre can’t seem to avoid. Filling this role here is Holt McCallany as CIA Deputy Director Alex Moore. McCallany is an excellent actor, to be sure—those who have seen Mindhunter can attest to that—but here his contribution consists mostly of shouting and threats.
The Amateur is at once an interesting and different take on the classical spy thriller, while still threading familiar ground. Charles is not your typical spy thriller hero. While I never watched the film from 1981 or read the book it is based on, Rami Malek is excellent as the awkward and—most likely—neurodivergent Charles, giving a strong impression of his strengths, weaknesses and flaws, and uses these as a strong base to tell a story that is both exciting and a fresh take on the genre.
However, the story structure will be distinctly familiar to anyone who has watched—or read—Tom Clancy or the Jason Bourne stories. A rogue spy on the run, chasing revenge—and being chased in turn—across exotic locations around Europe. Well, exotic to most Americans, maybe, but for us who actually live in Europe, it’s Tuesday—not counting all the spies and assassins, however.
That said, the filmmakers wanted to go for a very different feel of these locations. In most other spy thrillers, when the story reaches a new location, be it a city or some idyllic vacation spot, establishing shots featuring famous landmarks are the first we see. Not in The Amateur, however.
Instead we’re taken straight into unknown streets and anonymous locations, which adds to the disoriented, paranoid tone of the film and places us right in Charles’s unstable point of view. And while most of these scenes and sequences are indeed shot at these locations, it gives us a more claustrophobic feeling that underscores the film’s tense atmosphere.
The Amateur is a pure thriller through and through. While it has its action scenes, as we’ve established, Charles is no action hero, and the film works best in the scenes where his humanity and morals come into conflict with his drive for revenge. He is out of his depth and he knows it, surrounded by spies and killers as he is, far from home.
These elements help The Amateur feel original and fresh, exploring new areas of familiar territory. However, the story is often slow and tense, so if you’re expecting high-octane action in the style of Jason Bourne, you might be disappointed.
Still, it’s a tense, thrilling and often tragic ride, with some excellent acting and great locations. Highly recommended.
I might just watch this this weekend! Thanks Eirik!