By George Ligon (Columnist)
A Most Wanted Man
Warning: Minor Spoilers
One Long Sentence Review: A smart and subtle movie that restores your faith in cinema, this is one of the best adaptations of a le Carré novel yet, and should lead to minor award buzz for Hoffman.
PPH Rating: 9.75
A Most Wanted Man, starring the late great Phillip Seymor Hoffman in one of his last roles, is a movie that clings to your psyche long after the credits roll. Like everyone else in the audience, I remained in my seat for a good minute after the breathless conclusion, totally transfixed by the spell that this movie cast. The actors are all top notch and in full form, the script and story are tremendous, and the directing is near perfect, as is the movie itself.
Unfortunately for this adaptation of master espionage writer John le Carré’s novel, it follows on the heels of 2011’s stellar Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, forcing a somewhat unfair comparison between the two le Carré stories. However, the differences sufficiently separate the two. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a story of Cold War espionage, but A Most Wanted Man sits firmly with a contemporaneous landscape. Whereas Tinker Tailor is somewhat reminiscent of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, A Most Wanted Man bears a closer resemblance to A Constant Gardner. Hoffman’s portrayal of German spymaster Günther Bachmann is predictably brilliant and fully rivals Oldman’s take on George Smiley. While Hoffman will still be appearing on screen as late as November 2015's Hunger Games finale, this should be considered the last peak of a career cut tragically short.
Sadly, whilstTinker Tailor Soldier Spy benefited from a transcendental musical score - as much a character as Smiley - A Most Wanted Man lacks such compositional brilliance.However, that is the only real criticism of the movie that I have to offer. Like all le Carré stories, this is a world neither too sleek nor unnecessarily gritty, and everything that happens is disturbingly believable.
The movie’s color palate is dim and smoky, as if the optimisms of life have been sucked out. Despite existing in a world of drones, hacking, and surveillance, this remains a story about spies and dark streets and uncertainty. There are no leaps of faith required to follow the plot, but a sharp mind is necessary to fully appreciate the world of international espionage that Günther lives in.
The story opens with Günther running a small black ops anti-terrorism unit within German intelligence. He suspects that a well known Muslim philanthropist is using his network of charities to channel money to terrorists, but lacks solid evidence. An escaped prisoner and confessed terrorist shows up in Hamburg, seeking assistance from a left-wing lawyer in retrieving a massive inheritance from a shadowy banker. His superiors want to arrest both, but Günther is more interested in using them as bait, an analogy put to perfect use in the best line from the trailer, “It takes a minnow to catch a barracuda, a barracuda to catch a shark.” [Side Note: Hands down the coolest pronunciation of barracuda, ever.]
Günther slowly draws these characters together, baiting, manipulating, and using them for his means. The entire film draws from these concentric circles, building and building and building until everything collides in perhaps the most thundering, emotional sixty-seconds you’ll ever see on screen. The conclusion is so brutal and stunning that you feel it in your bones.
Mix-in interdepartmental rivalries within German Intelligence, an American spy who clearly has Günther’s superiors on a leash, and the stage is set for a taut thriller that doesn’t waste time with explanatory dialogue or Hollywood subplots.
Therein lies the political brilliance of the story. Despite his criticisms of American actions, Günther does not object to, or deny the necessity of, illegal renditions, only the frequency and instances of use. As Günther himself says to a room of bureaucrats, his unit exists because German Intelligence needs to do things that German law does not allow them to do. Neither moralist crusader nor utilitarian warrior, Günther is a decent man in an indecent world, and his only goal is to make it a safer place the best way he knows how. This is not a man who hates Islam or believes that all Muslims are terrorists who want to kill us. The problem, as Günther explains, is that some of them are trying to kill us.
Hoffman’s performance has drawn the majority of the accolades, as it well should, but Rachel McAdams lawyer and Nina Hoss’s portrayal of Günther’s assistant should not be overlooked for their nuance. However, it is the physicality that Hoffman brings to Günther which is the highlight of the acting, including a particularly memorable moment when he violently pushes a woman into a chair. This said, at the denouement when we finally see the masks come off and every character’s true emotions are seen, there isn’t a single actor who falls short.
The international politics behind the plot are what truly drives the tension, with the Islamic terrorism angle serving as little more than a catalyst. This is, after all, the world of John le Carré, not Vince Flynn or Andy McNab. The American interference is depicted as frustrating, but the frustration comes only from a difference of opinion and circumstance. Labouring beneath the spectre of 9/11, the Americans are seen as more proactive for a reason. German Intelligence, on the other hand, is just trying to cover their asses in case of a terrorist attack. Günther understands this, even as he disagrees with their analysis. If Günther were a lesser spy, we might not sympathize with his calls for a more subtle approach.
But we do sympathize, and through the portrayal of the other characters we come to see that this is not a world of good and bad, largely because of the dearth of "good guys" in the movie. McAdams lawyer is overly pacifistic and helps terrorists escape prosecution. Günther breaks the law because the law is not compatible with his job. Everyone is lying, as much to themselves to stay sane as to each other. Even Günther’s heavy drinking and chain smoking is not meant to be a character flaw. It’s merely how he copes with his sins, nothing more.
This is a movie that should make everyone uncomfortable by the end. No matter what one might think about Islamic terrorism and how it has been combated, the movie invites us to reflect on the idealism likely underpinning our assessments. The world is messier than we realize, and that’s the ultimate message: there is no right answer, there is no way to protect everyone, and perhaps most dishearteningly, there is no moral solution. In the world of A Most Wanted Man, there will always be losers and sin-eaters. In criticizing spies like Günther and the actions they take, we are having our cake and eating it too. Without Günther we might not be around to eat cake, but that doesn’t fully wash away the bitter taste of the icing. For most people, it’s probably best if they never lift the curtain and look into the kitchen.
Then again, maybe we need to look. Perhaps looking should be a prerequisite.
This film invites us to look.
A Most Wanted Man is the kind of movie that makes you wish for more like it, but as it barely broke even (when something like Transformers can top a billion dollars at the global box office) it’s not hard to understand why something this smart, fun, and relevant only comes along once every few years. As the digital copy has been released and with the arrival of cold and wet weather, now is the perfect time to make a cup and catch this top tier spy thriller, something I highly recommend.
Just don’t blame me if you find yourself roaming dark streets in a trench coat afterwards.
| Metric (Total Possible) | Score (9.75/10) | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Money Point (1) | 1 | 1.0 = Own it .75 = See it in cinemas .5 = Cinemas off-peak .25 = Rent it later 0 = Skip it. |
| Enjoyability (3) | 3 | Sense of satisfaction, fun, and keeping you tuned into the screen. |
| Artistry (3) | 2.75 | Directing, Script, Acting |
| Political/Philosophical Value (3) | 3 | Prevalence of interesting political or philosophical themes |
Dracula Untold
Warning: Major Spoilers.
One Long Sentence Review: An excellent blend of horror and action, Dracula Untold is a largely forgettable but enjoyable Halloween romp that manages to avoid campness, but in addition avoids plot, script and acting as well.
PPH Rating: 5.75
If you have never before heard of Dracula, you need to stop reading this and go read Bram Stoker's famous novel through which Dracula became the world's most famous vampire. Assuming that most people do know Dracula, there isn't much room for spoilers or surprises in an origin story destined to end with Dracula becoming the world's most famous vampire.
While hardly a new problem, especially with so many films being adaptations, gritty origin stories, and franchise sequels, this lack of suspense surrounding Luke Evan’s Prince Vlad/Dracula clearly handicaps director Gary Shore’s big screen directorial debut. In addition, the all-too-obvious fingerprints of studio executives attempting to set up future sequels detracts from the story, as Universal Studios begins to create a shared monsters universe in the same vein as Marvel’s Avengers.
Without spoiling anything, I can share that although the entire movie takes place over four days during the historical reign of Vlad the Impaler in 15th century Hungary, the final scene jumps to the present day. In the process of doing so it sets up the most intriguing plot twist of the whole film. Unfortunately, this scene is too short to truly titillate audience interest as to what might happen next, and it is most certainly not a surprise to anyone familiar with genre tropes.
The setup is simple and familiar, but in a good way. The Turks demand that Prince Vlad send 1,000 boys to join the Ottoman army. After having promised his wife that he would protect their only son, Vlad decides to risk the lives of everyone in the kingdom by refusing. Faced with an army of 100,000 men at his doorstep, he has no choice but to enter into a Faustian bargain with the original vampire, the Roman Emperor Caligula, who, as luck would have it, lives in a nearby cave. Given some fantastical vampire powers, Vlad has three days to use these vaguely defined abilities before he becomes mortal again. If he drinks blood then he will remain a vampire forever, and therein lies the central conflict of the film.
Vlad wants to protect his family and his kingdom, but to do so he must embrace the vampire Dracula. For the most part, these two competing urges within Vlad’s soul work to drive the movie along. The added element of a ticking clock works well to focus the story, but as a plot device it is strangely forgotten.
There are two aspects of this movie for the political philosopher to examine. The first is the outward, political drama of the story. Vlad is counseled early on that things like courage, anger and love are not the concern of princes. In true Neo-Realist, utilitarian fashion, it is only the security and survival of his kingdom that matters. This alone is where his duty lies.
At first, Vlad seems to agree, and the story of how he massacred one village so that he could save lives by not having to fight the next ten villages makes him out to be something of a sympathetic but utilitarian ruler. He knows the difference between doing what is moral and doing what is best. Even after the addition of his own son to the roster of 1,000 new recruits, Vlad initially goes forward with the deal. In a brief moment that highlights what Castiglione referred to as the 'virtue of noble birth' in The Book of the Courtier, Vlad’s son bravely volunteers to go even when Vlad falters.
Yet, this movie has no interest in virtue. When his wife angrily impugns Vlad’s honor, the deal is broken and the stage for war is set.
There is a peculiarity here. Vlad is placing his own honor in the eyes of his wife and his wife above his duty as a prince. Everyone else is more understanding of his predicament. Furthermore, he places the life of his son above the lives of everyone else in the kingdom collectively. We are meant to see Vlad as an honorable man doing what is necessary to defend what he loves most, but in the process we instead see Vlad forced into one moral ultimatum after another in pursuit of a perfect solution that never materializes. To save his kingdom he risks his soul to eternal damnation; to save his family he risks the slaughter of his people.
His wife tells him that they did what any good parent would do, but the problem is that Vlad is more than a parent. In acting like a good parent he becomes a bad prince. Perhaps this is why some of the best rulers in history were childless. The movie never answers the question of whether Vlad made the right choice by not turning over the 1,000 boys, but the suggestion is made that he chose poorly.
The other element for the political philosopher to examine is the internal conflict within Vlad’s soul. As with the attempt to make Vlad appear honorable, the purpose of this conflict is to make the audience pull for Vlad to succeed. Dracula is meant to be an antihero, but the impaling, mass-murdering and confessedly sociopathic Dracula of the film is about as dark as an antihero can get without becoming a villain. It is quite the compliment to Evans’ performance and charisma that when we do see him in the present day, we are happy.
By becoming a vampire his soul is damned, but to make him into an antihero the movie gives Vlad a redemptive love arc that should have been played up to a far greater extent than it is. That he loves so strongly, and that even after becoming Dracula he still loves with such depth, is the true tragedy of Dracula. This is why the character is so captivating, how he can be an antihero. In my favorite shot of the movie, as Vlad first explores his newfound vampiric powers, he realizes that he has enhanced eyesight. His instinctual response is to look up and gaze deep into the far reaches of space, and as he does so his face lights up with amazement and wonder. Even without the tragic love arc, this alone is enough to show that there is a type of greatness within Dracula’s soul; indeed, that he has a soul at all.
As for the other elements of the film, the directing is decent, with some captivating landscape shots juxtaposed against inconsistent editing for conversations. The acting is predictably mediocre, although this is as much the fault of the script as it is the actors'. The film is to be applauded for keeping the run time to just 92 minutes in this age of overstuffed CGI action orgies, but it does not allow for any real character development. Still, this is clearly a film that knows what it’s about and what it’s audience is paying to see, and the action sequences deliver on that promise.
And I must say, after the teenage hormone-driven and sexually-frustrated-mom-financed social travesty that was the Twilight Saga, it’s rather pleasing to see that vampires haven’t been entirely defanged. There are no vegetarians here. [Side Note: For a superb modern take on vampires checkout the Strain Trilogy of novels by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, which recently completed its first series run on TV]
Featuring little more than a phoned-in cameo as the Turkish sultan by Dominic Cooper, the only real match for Evans’ Dracula is Caligula, played by Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones). In their big scene together Dance does far more with his lines than what should be possible, and Evans keeps up the whole way for the best and scariest sequence of the movie.
Finally, I will add that if you have seen the trailer, the marketing for this movie made it out to be much more of a fun, fantasy-action spectacle than what it actually is. This film is dark and plays it straight the whole way; there is no winking at the audience. It might better be classified as horror, with some great uses of jump-scares, sound cues, and lighting tricks. This is strengthened by the fact that the scariest moments are also the most action-packed, truly creating a sense of horror at Dracula’s powers. I genuinely had goosebumps at times, especially during the aforementioned meeting between Vlad and Caligula. These vampires are truly monsters. It is no mistake that this film is being released in October, yet the only shame is that it has not been marketed more directly towards the annual Halloween movie crowd.
If you’re looking for a fun distraction, love the Dracula character, need a warmup for Halloween, or just want to stare at Luke Evans’ impressive abs, Dracula Untold is an enjoyable distraction, so long as you don’t pay peak ticket prices.
| Metric (Total Possible) | Score (9.75/10) | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Money Point (1) | 0.25 | 1.0 = Own it .75 = See it in cinemas .5 = Cinemas off-peak .25 = Rent it later 0 = Skip it. |
| Enjoyability (3) | 3 | Sense of satisfaction, fun, and keeping you tuned into the screen. |
| Artistry (3) | 1.5 | Directing, Script, Acting |
| Political/Philosophical Value (3) | 2 | Prevalence of interesting political or philosophical themes |