Review of A Most Wanted Man (2014) by Gamed2Long — 28 Sep 2014

I am a big fan of the books by John le Carre. Having read the book going into this movie it was interesting, knowing a large part of what was going on to watch it all play out. The person I was with had not read the book. They got lost. And its easy to understand why. A lot of films these days spoon feed major plot points and throw in a reminder every 2 minutes anyway. Not this movie. However they could have done a better job adding context to key things. Like why the banker goes out on a limb for Issa. Or why the protagonists boss/competitors choose to burn him at the end. All it would take is a 30 second "news clip." These were things I would not have been able to follow if I hadn't read the book. The cinematography also had a style that is a bit sloppy. Often I found myself looking for something of meaning in the background which the camera spent so much time dwelling on. Mostly there was none to be had.

Philip Seymour Hoffman gives an excellent performance. He looks awful. You can tell his real life drug issues are taking their toll. But it completely suits the character.

Willem Dafoe gives an unusually nice and likable performance.

All in all its a good movie that could have been a great movie. I place that clearly on the director. Though they gave it their best shot.