A Most Wanted Man, from a novel by Jon le Carre and directed
by Anton Corbijn, is set in Hamburg. Hamburg being the city where the September
11 attacks were planned and a city in a state of constant high alert ever since.
Gunther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) leads a small anti-terrorism unit there
who are tasked with monitoring the local Muslim community.
When Chechen immigrant Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin)
arrives in the city suspicions are aroused and he quickly comes under scrutiny
from both Bachmann’s unit and the local German authorities who have a hotline
to the American security services.
Issa is put in touch with Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams),
an idealistic lawyer specialising in asylum seekers, and tells her he
is entitled to a significant inheritance which is held in a Hamburg bank.
Bachmann moves in and cleverly manipulates Issa, Richter and
Tommy Brue (Willem Dafoe) the CEO of the Hamburg Bank. Together they lead him
to Mohammad Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi), a man who supports Muslim charities but
is also suspected of supporting terrorist organizations through a shipping
company in Cyprus. In return he promises to protect everyone from the
authorities, a promise he probably can’t keep.
Bachmann himself is a highly unkempt figure who seems to survive
purely on cigarettes, whiskey and coffee but he knows his job. Unfortunately
while Bachmann is content for Issa, Abdullah and co to gradually lead him to
the bigger fish, the Americans are far more impatient and send in the cold calculating
Martha Sullivan (Robin Wright) to move things along. Bachmann manages to keep
them at arm’s length for a while whilst he sets up his operation.
Given the chance to donate Issa’s inheritance to who he sees
fit, Abdullah can’t resist syphoning some off to his shipping company and Bachmann
knows his trap has been a success. Unfortunately his honourable intentions to
all concerned will be thwarted when the American led authorities wade in.
A Most Wanted Man is a stylish, sophisticated thriller with no
explosions, car chases or any such clichéd shenanigans. All we have is an
insight into a rather subtle espionage game and it’s rather good because of
that.
Sadly it was the last film that Philip Seymour Hoffman made before
his sudden death earlier this year but at least it’s a good one to remember him
by. Hoffman simply propels this film along although he is ably assisted by an excellent supporting cast. He will be missed.
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