Review of A Most Wanted Man (2014) by Scott K — 09 Aug 2014

An innocent political refugee trying to make some restitution for the sins of his father is manipulated by Government Anti-Terrorism agencies to trap the key money man for a terrorist group. In this adaptation of the 2008 spy novel by John le Carré, Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman in his final starring role as Gunter Bachmann, is a counter terrorist expert working out of Hamburg, Germay as a rogue agent.

Heâ??s been staking-out the new arrivel of a half Chechen, half Russian, brutally tortured immigrant, Issa Karpov, (played by Grigoriy Dobrygin) who is hiding in the Islamic community. Issa, who is seeking asylum, is being aided by Annabel Richter (played by Rachel McAdams), an American lawyer.

Issa asks Annabel to contact Tommy Brue (played by Oscar nominee Williem Defoe), a bank teller and son of a former colleague of Issaâ??s father who was holding a large account in trust. Annabel is abducted by Gunterâ??s crew & thrown into a holding cell where Gunter and crew persuade her to cooperate with them in exchange for a guarantee of safety for Issa.

Annabel persuades Issa to offer the considerable fortune due him to Dr. Faisal Abdullah (played by Homayoun Ershadi) who Gunter believes is re-routing some of the money from his philanthropic activities to fund arms for Islamic extremists.

Gunter is under pressure to prove that Abdullah is the man they are looking for while German Intelligence and the CIA are busy complicating the plan. Anton Corbijn whose previous film was the George Clooney film, The American, directs from a script by Andrew Bovell an intense, moving, & complex thriller.

Each of the cast member's performances was captivating, and I was invested in each of them. I felt empathy for Issa, who was just trying to escape a cruel past only to be caught in the middle of treacherous situation.

Once again, Philip proves that he was one of Hollywoodâ??s most gifted & talented actor. SEE THIS FILM.