The Tailor of Panama (2001)

A tailor living in Panama reluctantly becomes a spy for a British agent.

Director:

John Boorman

Writers:

John le Carré (novel), Andrew Davies (screenplay),

Stars:

Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush, Jamie Lee Curtis

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pierce Brosnan	...	Andrew 'Andy' Osnard
Geoffrey Rush	...	Harold 'Harry' Pendel
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Louisa Pendel
Leonor Varela	...	Marta
Brendan Gleeson	...	Michelangelo 'Mickie' Abraxas
Harold Pinter	...	Uncle Benny
Catherine McCormack	...	Francesca Deane
Daniel Radcliffe	...	Mark Pendel
Lola Boorman	...	Sarah Pendel
David Hayman	...	Luxmore
Mark Margolis	...	Rafi Domingo
Martin Ferrero	...	Teddy, the Reporter
John Fortune	...	Maltby
Martin Savage	...	Stormont
Edgardo Molino	...	Juan-David

Storyline

John LeCarre's spy thriller is brought to the big screen. A British spy is banished to Panama after having an affair with an ambassador's mistress. Once there he makes connection with a local tailor with a nefarious past and connections to all of the top political and gangster figures in Panama. The tailor also has a wife, who works for the Panamanian president and a huge debt. The mission is to learn what the President intends to do with the Panama Canal. But what the two do is concoct a tremendous fictional tale about former mercenaries who are ready to topple the current government and are willing to work with Britain and the US to do so.

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Plot Keywords:

panama | spy | tailor | president | ambassador | 

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Taglines:

In a place this treacherous, what a good spy needs is a spy of his own.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, language and some violence

Details

Country:

USA Ireland

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

30 March 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

El sastre de Panamá

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£285,368 (UK) (20 April 2001)

Gross:

$13,491,653 (USA) (6 July 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Merlin Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Source author John le Carré included 'The Tailor of Panama' as one of his four best novels during an interview on 5 October 2008 on BBC Four. The other best works he selected were 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', 'The Constant Gardener' and 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'.

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Goofs

Savile Row, a street famous for its tailoring establishments in central London and mentioned many times in the film, is misspelled "Saville" on the computer screen that Osnard scans on the flight.

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Quotes

[first lines]
MI.6 Handler: Panama.
Andrew 'Andy' Osnard: Panama?
MI.6 Handler: Best I could do Andrew. Under the circumstances, given your sins. They were baying for blood.

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Connections

Spoofs Casablanca (1942)

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Soundtracks

"Techno N-Trance"
Written and Performed by Dino Nugent

User Reviews

An atmospheric, well-crafted thriller with actors having an infectiously good time.

The Tailor of Panama is an atmospheric, well-crafted thriller in which the actors have an infectiously good time with their characters, especially an excellent and hilarious Pierce Brosnan as Andy Osnard, a roguish British spy who is sent to Panama (superbly described as "Casablanca without heroes") to keep out of trouble and get back his government's trust. However, even in post-Cold War diplomacy you have to play the game and earn your wage. The diplomats still have to listen to their sources. Osnard selects British ex-pat tailor Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush) to be his information source, using Pendel's hidden past to get his cooperation. Pendel is well-placed as his wife works for the director of the Panama Canal Company, but he also has friends formerly in the anti-Noriega ranks. Osnard passes on what Pendel tells him to his superiors. These two characters start to spin a web of exciting misinformation that they start to revel in, but this has consequences which escalate beyond their control. The background of Panama, from its "laundromats" (banks) to its seedy nightclubs, suits the characters and the story perfectly, and gives the film an atmospheric richness of the type director Boorman excels in. It is a treat for those who love international political intrigue and who may have traveled or lived in such places. This is a thriller which relies not on hi-tech filmmaking gimmicks (and there are many opportunities to), but on characters interesting enough to follow all the way through the film. It has an old-fashioned feel, and an wry and mischievous humor. Some may see some implausibility in the final conseuences of Osnard's and Pendel's actions, but on the whole the shamless good time they have bring these (almost) anti-heroes to life is infectious. Great fun.