The Amateur is a new spy thriller directed by James Hawes and starring Rami Malek as a CIA decoder that takes revenge into his own hands after the CIA refuses to take action against his wife’s killers.
Director James Hawes pieces together a competent spy movie that has all the makings of a typical revenge thriller. But the execution is often so predictable and safe, that it never fully surprises you.
Rami Malek brings a reliable stoicism to the role, as he usually does. Yet he can’t reach the emotional highs that he’s meant to here. As he uncovers pieces of corruption and attends a personal moral crusade, he seems focused but lacks any visceral conviction.
Rachel Brosnahan for her short role in the movie delivers easily the most emotionally impactful performance in the film. She feels like the only one who actually convinced me to care about the outcome. Many of the other performances, while still compelling in their own right, are given underwhelming dialogue and awfully slow pacing that undercut any emotional stakes we’re meant to feel for them.
The first act of the film stretches on for a while, attempting to establish the emotional and political stakes of the rest of the story. Unfortunately, nothing here strikes us as particularly shocking. And while the second act delivers some genuinely strong mystery and thrills, the lack of emotional conviction from the start means that many of the final act’s payoffs fall flat.
The film has multiple plot points that should feel like impactful emotional payoffs, whether its exacting revenge, or justice being served. But the characters and situations are never played out in a way that deliver the stakes and emotional investment that the movie thinks it deserves. For instance, any semblance of CIA corruption never amounts to something the audience should feel outraged about, because the plot never reaches a simmering point where we truly feel angry or shocked at anyone’s actions. Instead, it simply lays out in a simple fashion that the CIA might be up to something duplicitous. The slow pace and lacklustre delivery make these stakes fall flat.
The film’s visual style is fairly pragmatic and not awfully stylish. With some sprawling locations it would’ve been nice to see more flair. Cinematographer Martin Ruhe composes some gorgeous shots in the nighttime scenes in Turkey, but for the most parts sticks to fairly safe and steady styles.
The Amateur is classic spy revenge film that will satisfy genre enthusiastic looking for something reliable. It misses the chance however, to offer the fresh and compelling story it could have.
The Amateur releases in Australian cinemas this Thursday, 10th April from 20th Century Studios.
