We're Not Policemen. We're Spys: A Most Wanted Man

Ever since 9/11, there has been an emphasis in the "Spy Thriller" genre to create a sort of gung-ho terrorist take down conclusion to further define the narrative as a good vs evil situation, similar to our news media.  Of course, anyone who chooses to educate themselves past High School knows that there is no such thing as good and even.  Rather, there are thousands of shades of gray to every angle of every story.  Few films convey this fact and when they do they're often not met with financial success.  A Most Wanted Man is one of these films and you should do yourself a favor and pay it some considerable attention.

Based on the 2008 John Le Carre novel of the same title, it centers around an intelligence organization that is shadowing two particular men to determine ties to Al Qaeda.  Caught up in the mess are a Banker and a grass roots civil rights Lawyer, but the central characters are Chechen, Issa, and German intelligence man, Gunther Bachmann (one of the final roles of late Philip Seymour Hoffman.)  Bachmann seems to not only have his mission at hand, but seems to continuously clash with an incredibly hawkish German security council and the CIA as well.

What this film does, exceptionally well, is provide multiple points of view.  From the Lawyer to the CIA official, the characters all seem to have a very clearly defined idea of what they stand for and what makes them who they are.  It is Bachmann alone who seems to be more concerned on the big picture, while the Security Council and CIA are more interested in taking down what they believe to be key players in the war on terror.  We start to wonder, who is really the Most Wanted Man (a potential play on words) as the story plays out.

Le Carre was inspired by the real life story of Murat Kurnaz who was kidnapped by the CIA, jailed and tortured in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay for five years under the Bush administration.  While Le Carre's obviously fictional story serves more as a soap box for dissent against many post 9/11 Policies that had sprung up world wide, it also serves as a huge "What If..." argument.  As it was proven that Kurnaz was not a military combatant, is it not possible, likely even, that there are many more people under similar treatment and scrutiny?  How do we justify actions taken before all the facts are in.  

It's no secret that to win popular opinion the only thing that matters is an immediate result.  This is the central theme of the film, the long term vs the short term.  There's also a crippling sense of the humanity one must set aside to attain the goals of the, so-called, greater good and "making the world a safer place."  I can think of no better cast to portray these themes than the one in this film.  Philip Seymour Hoffman's controlled performance is shattered in the stunning climax of the film, making Bachmann's story truly heart breaking.  Furthermore, I seem to find myself more and more surprised at how good Rachel McAdams can be, and when you've got stalwart's like Robin Wright and Willem Dafoe on top of your incredible international support cast, you cannot lose.

This film is a slow burn, make no mistake, and it is made in the same vein as previous Le Carre adaptation Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.  Director Anton Corbijn makes use of wide shots so well in this film that it feels like it's from a different era entirely, adding to the unsettling nature of the subject matter.  A must see for fans of great cinema, but unfortunately this film will probably not keep the attention of the blockbuster junkie.