Review: The Amateur
Rami Malek again breaks out his hacking skills in the globe-trotting revenge thriller The Amateur.
Based on the 1981 novel by Robert Littell, Malek plays Charles Heller, a genius-level CIA cryptographer whose life is shattered after a devastating terrorist attack takes the life of his wife, Sarah, played by Rachel Brosnahan. Not satisfied with the response from the CIA, Heller takes matters into his own hands and goes rogue, tracking down the people responsible for the attack and figuring out unique methods to both interrogate and kill them as he works his way up to the man in charge. The movie is much more of a slow burn than you might expect. If you go in expecting Bourne-level action, you’ll probably be disappointed, as there’s more action behind a keyboard than with guns or fists. Also, the pacing could’ve used some tightening. At just over two hours, the film drags in spots—especially in the second act, where it seems to lose momentum trying to juggle geopolitical intrigue and corrupt CIA officials with Charlie’s emotional state without fully committing to either.
The movie’s highlight is the traps and setups that Charlie sets up to take down his targets, utilizing his high IQ and technical knowledge to do things like rig a rooftop glass pool to implode. I think the movie would have benefitted more from possibly having each target be its own little heist movie, focusing more on Charlie setting up and rigging his traps and then getting the payoff of them going off. As is, you only get the payoff, and it just feels like the movie is spinning its wheels many times, doing other less compelling things. The movie could have also used Charlie’s High Potential style thought process more to figure out things no one else possibly could, but he only does it 1 or 2 times throughout, and you basically forget that it’s one of his character traits at times.
Acting-wise, Rami Malek is excellent as Charlie, effortlessly channeling both the grief of someone who lost the love of his life and his slowly building confidence and resolve to get vengeance on the people responsible.. It’s a slower, more simmering take on the “reluctant killer” archetype, and Malek gives the character depth that might not have been there on the page. Laurence Fishburne pops in as a grizzled CIA vet trying to rein Charles in, and he’s effortlessly magnetic with a mix of humor, menace, and regret. Holt McCallany is another highlight, playing an agency fixer with enough menace and moral ambiguity to steal every scene he’s in, even if it’s pretty evident from the jump that he’s up to no good. Jon Bernthal also shows up but is essentially an extended cameo with no real payoff. However, like most of his roles, he oozes confidence and charisma. Rachel Brosnahan is also, unfortunately, pretty much just a plot device, with very little character development before she’s killed and is just motivation for Charlie to go on his revenge quest.
Ultimately, The Amateur doesn’t quite crack the code to greatness. However, thanks to Rami Malek’s gripping performance and a handful of clever, cerebral kills, it still manages to be an intelligent, slow-burn thriller that rewards patience—even if you can’t help but wish it leaned harder into its most unique ideas.
