A Most Wanted Man review: Philip Seymour Hoffman's final starring role

Director: Anton Corbijn; Screenwriter: Andrew Bovell; Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright, Willem Dafoe, Grigoriy Dobrygin, Daniel Brühl; Running time: 122 mins; Certificate: 15

Philip Seymour Hoffman's still has two more appearances in The Hunger Games finale Mockingjay before he's gone from our screens forever, but his last starring role is this John le Carré adaptation about a German intelligence agent tracking a Chechen illegal immigrant in the port city of Hamburg.

Hoffman's Günther Bachmann is a man operating in the shadows and, like George Smiley (played superbly by Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), he can be low-key to the point of anonymity. Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin) is the refugee who arrives through the city docks and into the crosshairs of Bachmann, who believes he could be a terror threat.

Of course, this being a le Carré yarn, the web of intrigue spins out far and wide, ensnaring Tommy Brue (Willem Dafoe), a banker who laundered cash for Karpov's father; Faisal Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi), a doctor suspected of routing funds to Al Qaeda; and Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams), an idealistic young lawyer specialising in immigration cases. Furthermore, Bachmann's CIA contact Martha Sullivan (played with steely Claire Underwood-like gaze by Robin Wright) is also hot on the chase.

Control's Anton Corbijn sits behind the camera, expertly capturing the dingy world of surveillance and the lives of those operating in the shadows. Like previous le Carré films Tinker Tailor and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, the pace is glacial and the tone chilly throughout. It's a thriller without any real thrills until the final act, held back by Andrew Bovell's script never really finding a strong emotional hook for his characters.

Annabel's relationship with Karpov offers up some tender moments, but it's nothing on the burnt-out Alec Leamas's shot at redemption with Nan Perry in Spy or the heartbreak suffered by Ricky Tarr and Peter Guillam in Tinker Tailor. In A Most Wanted Man, where trust frequently turns into betrayal, you're never quite as invested in the main players as much as you ought to be.

Though Hoffman could deliver an explosive turn to rival the best of them, A Most Wanted Man underlines just how good he was at the little things; those small, subtle moments that help a character flourish into a multi-dimensional whole.

The exception is Hoffman, who's able to bring a remarkable complexity and depth to Bachmann, a man who we're only shown in the context of his work. Though Hoffman could deliver an explosive turn to rival the best of them, A Most Wanted Man underlines just how good he was at the little things; those small, subtle moments that help a character flourish into a multi-dimensional whole.

Even through Bachmann's exasperated sighs, surreptitious swigs of booze and shuffles through clouds of cigarette smoke, Hoffman manages to be utterly magnetic. In the hands of a lesser actor this character would be impenetrable, but it's a credit to Hoffman's ability that he's able to keep you invested in this hangdog hero until the walls close in for the finale. Corbijn's ending takes on an added emotional poignancy with the knowledge that it's one of the last times we'll see him. All the more it's a reminder of how much he'll be missed.

3

Simon Reynolds

Movies Editor 

Simon has worked as a journalist for more than a decade, writing on staff and freelance for Hearst, Dennis, Future and Autovia titles before joining Cision in 2022.