Daisy
I don’t know what it is with action films, but they love the dead wife trope. It’s a catalyst, an overused plot device, all to spur on the otherwise average male protagonist.
And this is what happens in The Amateur. Charles Heller (Rami Malek) is a CIA decoder, whose wife is killed in a London terrorist attack. But when he takes this to his superiors, they refuse to help. Charles must take matters into his own hands, and yep, you guessed it, go on a crazy revenge mission to hunt down his wife’s killers.
Charles is a rather meek character, who Malek brings a certain twitchy, wide-eyed behaviour to.
He’s not your usual action hero type, and it was quite refreshing to watch. After training with Col. Robert Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) he finds he’s not cut out for close combat. But Charles is smart. He quickly realises that he doesn’t have to fight his enemies, and the corrupt CIA members on his tail, he just has to outsmart them.
Despite a glossy exterior, the film struggles with its narrative. Time moves fluidly, which makes transitions between scenes and locations easy to follow, but gives you whiplash when someone mentions the passage of time. Charles moves from interaction to interaction with no space for filler.
At the end of the film I couldn’t tell you if it took place over a few weeks or a few years.
This pacing meant that we didn’t see much of the going on’s behind each ‘kill’. By the time Charles has his target in his grasp, it’s already too late for them. While it does suck you into the narrow focus, and growing insanity of his character, it took away from the mystery. Things pan out for him as expected every time. Outside of Charles, there isn’t enough time for the host of other characters. He can tell everyone again and again how much his wife mattered, but all we see of her is brief hallucinations.
Laurence Fishburn being featured on the poster, meant I expected a lot more of him. While his character was hot on Charles’ heels, we didn’t get to dig deeper into his character any deeper. There simply wasn’t time for any deep internal reflection from anyone.
But the award for most underutilised actor in a movie goes to Jon Bernthal. I had no clue he was going to be in this film, and I was elated when he first appeared on screen. But after his first act appearance, I was waiting for him to show up again. And I kept waiting. And waiting. Until the third act, where we get a measly three minute monologue. I don’t fault Bernthal. He did his best with what he had. But the script, or post-production (or both), did him dirty.
There are a handful of moments that make this film worthy of a watch. But the trailer does this film a disservice by showing off one of the best scenes (maybe don’t watch the trailer). The ending is rather underwhelming. It doesn’t go out with a bang, rather a fizzle. It might be enough for Charles, but it may leave cinema goers feeling a unsatisfied.
This isn’t an action-packed blockbuster. The Amateur is nuanced and tentative, much like its protagonist. I still rather enjoyed ‘nerdy Jason Bourne’, but I won’t be itching for a rewatch anytime soon.
Year: 2025
Rating: M
Running Time: 123 MIN
Genre: Action,
Director: James Hawes
Starring: Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Caitríona Balfe, Michael Stuhlbarg, Laurence Fishburne
Production Studio: Hutch Parker Entertainment
Distributor: 20th Century Studios