Review: ‘The Amateur’ bills an unconventional yet formidable opponent
‘The Amateur’ is an understated thriller in which an analyst tries his hand at vigilantism following his wife’s execution.
People often say they’d kill anyone who harmed their loved ones, but most don’t have the capacity to do so. It’s not just about being able to pull the trigger, but also the ability to find the perpetrators — particularly before the police apprehend them and they become unreachable. Thus, most people have to holster their desire for vengeance and let justice run its course. However, in the movies, ordinary citizens become vigilantes and the skilled ones become heroes, taking down dangerous criminals before they can cause more damage. In The Amateur, a widower finds himself somewhere in between those categories.
Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) likes solving puzzles of all sorts, which makes him a key contributor in the CIA’s decryption division. Consequently, when his wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), is murdered by terrorists while on a business trip in London, he can’t rest until the case is solved. Unfortunately, in spite of Charlie’s work to track down her killers, his superiors have other priorities that prevent them from taking any action. So, Charlie leverages his intelligence and demands the ability to go after the four-person crew himself. Besides being ill-equipped, his mission is complicated by his own aversion to violence and the trainer-turned-assassin (Laurence Fishburne) trailing him across Europe.
Director James Hawes is familiar with slow burn narratives, so this revenge thriller doesn’t unfold at a typical breakneck pace. It takes the time to establish Charlie’s connection to his wife, using their loving, happy marriage to justify his actions — or more accurately, his obsession. While most action movies revolve around brawny fisticuffs and big guns, this one is quick to demonstrate those are not areas of strength for Charlie. Instead, he uses his brainpower and aptitude for problem solving to track his enemies and stay ahead of his pursuers, gradually working his way to his elusive target: the triggerman.
Since the narrative relies primarily on wits, the body count stays relatively low. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some explosive scenes, the highlight being the destruction of a luxury, suspended pool. One of Charlie’s advantages is he’s repeatedly underestimated because of his inexperience and non-threatening appearance. However, his resolve makes up for his physical shortcomings, even if his lack of field expertise results in some perilous situations. The irony is that it took his wife’s murder to draw the introvert out of his basement office to travel across Europe.
Charlie expresses a variety of emotions over the course of the film, from adoration to frustration to icy determination and Malek depicts them all convincingly. Conversely, Fishburne portrays a man whose training has made him virtually emotionless, putting his name at the top of the call list when dealing with a complex issue. Jon Bernthal also makes an early appearance in the film, playing a covert CIA field agent, and then leaves audiences wondering if and when he might return, and who’s side he might be on at that time.
This is far from a Bourne-level espionage picture, but there is something satisfying about watching “a pencil pusher” get his revenge.
Director: James Hawes
Starring: Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan and Laurence Fishburne
