A different kind of spy in ‘The Amateur’
20th Century Studios’ new thriller “The Amateur,” starring Oscar winner Rami Malek, presents audiences an unconventional choice for its protagonist. Instead of the usual slick, highly-trained agent with a propensity for deadly weapons and hand-to-hand combat, we have a socially awkward introvert who spends most of his time in an underground office with no sunlight or fresh air.
This is Charlie Heller, whose forte is data encryption and surveillance—an analyst at the CIA, instead of a field agent like his friend “The Bear,” played by “The Bear”’s Jon Bernthal. When Charlie’s wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) gets killed in a hostage situation in London, Charlie is beside himself with grief, and retreats into his skills, gathering all the data and information he can from the CCTVs and cross-referencing the massive intelligence apparatus he has access to in order to glean the identities of the perpetrators.
But when he presents his findings to his superiors, he is met with inaction, because the agency wants the entire network, not just the particular men who killed his wife. This doesn’t sit well with Charlie, and so begins his campaign to acquire new skills via Col. Henderson (Laurence Fishburne), skills that should keep him alive in the field.
Alas, he finds he is no killer, at least not up close. Charlie has to stick with what he knows—his strengths: strategy, data, a capacity for improvising and tooling around with what’s at hand.
Nice guys on a mission
An adaptation of the 1981 Robert Littell book of the same name, “The Amateur” is a throwback to thrillers of the early 2000s. Nice guys on a personal mission of vengeance who go rogue, have to operate outside a legal framework, and without the usual expected support system.
There is a novelty to be found in watching someone so unequipped for a mission of righteous justice stumble about. Usually it would be a comedy starring Jack Black or, back then, maybe Chris Farley. In the hands of Best Actor winner Malek, it can be intense. He’s caught up in his grief, unable to sleep, driven to action. There are hints that his character may be neurodivergent, though the text never makes it explicit. Perhaps they were avoiding comparisons to Ben Affleck’s “The Accountant,” which also has Jon Bernthal.
In true thriller fashion, Heller goes to many different picturesque cities, Paris and Istanbul especially standing out. Because he’s learned he’s hopeless with guns, he comes up with new ways to torture and kill his targets. These are novel and interesting as well, though the movie could’ve used some more time on them a la MacGyver.
The unfortunate trait “The Amateur” also takes from its inspirations is the feeling that it’s been subject to conflicting and/or confusing studio notes. The Bernthal character doesn’t really serve a purpose, and supporting player Caitriona Balfe, playing a source who becomes Heller’s de facto “assistant at computer,” is underserved. While director James Hawes does what he can (one surmises he was selected for this project as a result of his stellar work on the first season of “Slow Horses”), the occasional dissonance in the script throws off pacing and momentum. Even a scene with Fishburne toward the end leaves the audience puzzled. Is it trying to set up a sequel?
Certain themes, like whether revenge really has any effect, could’ve been rewarding if unpacked a little more, but fall by the wayside to provide more conventionally standard results. Too bad, because “The Amateur” could’ve used a few more rewarding risks.
