Member-only story
‘The Amateur’ Review — This espionage thriller feels like the last gasp of a different world
A review of the new film, in theaters April 11th
In director James Hawes’ new film The Amateur, Rami Malek plays Charlie Heller. He’s an employee of the CIA, but he’s not one of the exciting guys who has adventures in the field; instead, he’s just a guy with a desk job, decrypting sensitive files deep in a Langley sub-basement.
After Charlie’s wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) is killed during a terror attack in London, Charlie embarks on a mission of revenge. He discovers that Chief Moore (Holt McCallany) has been overseeing off-the-books false-flag operations, so Charlie blackmails him. He wants training, money, a new identity, and permission to go after his wife’s killers. Soon, he’s off the grid, trotting around the globe tracking down terrorists one by one in an effort to get to the guy who actually pulled the trigger.
The Amateur began life as a novel, a 1981 spy story about a CIA guy with a desk job getting stranded on a mission of revenge behind the Iron Curtain. It was adapted into a film that same year, turning the story into an…
