A Most Wanted Man (2014)

A Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg, where he gets caught in the international war on terror.

Director:

Anton Corbijn

Writers:

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

Stars:

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Daniel Brühl

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Grigoriy Dobrygin	...	Issa Karpov (as Grigory Dobrygin)
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Günther Bachmann
Homayoun Ershadi	...	Abdullah
Mehdi Dehbi	...	Jamal
Neil Malik Abdullah	...	Abdullah's Bodyguard (as Neil Melik Abdullah)
Nina Hoss	...	Irna Frey
Daniel Brühl	...	Maximilian
Vicky Krieps	...	Niki
Kostja Ullmann	...	Rasheed
Franz Hartwig	...	Karl
Martin Wuttke	...	The Admiral
Vedat Erincin	...	Storekeeper
Rainer Bock	...	Dieter Mohr
Derya Alabora	...	Leyla Oktay
Tamer Yigit	...	Melik Oktay

Storyline

When a half-Chechen, half-Russian, brutally tortured immigrant turns up in Hamburg's Islamic community, laying claim to his father's ill gotten fortune, both German and US security agencies take a close interest: as the clock ticks down and the stakes rise, the race is on to establish this most wanted man's true identity - oppressed victim or destruction-bent extremist? Based on John le Carré's novel, A MOST WANTED MAN is a contemporary, cerebral tale of intrigue, love, rivalry, and politics that prickles with tension right through to its last heart-stopping scene.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | intelligence | war on terror | secret service | surveillance camera | 

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Taglines:

Inspired by true events.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK USA Germany

Language:

English Turkish

Release Date:

1 August 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hombre más buscado

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,717,000, 27 July 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$17,237,244, 7 November 2014

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$31,554,855, 13 November 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate,Film4,Demarest Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Datasat Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Stephen Cornwell said of the film's story: "One of the interesting things about A Most Wanted Man (2014) is that it doesn't really have an antagonist. It has lots of people who all believe they are doing the right thing but their reasons are all different. They come into conflict around one central objective, which is the most wanted man who they all see from a different perspective and want for different reasons."

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Goofs

When jumping into the U-Bahn at "Landungsbrücken" on that track the next station is "Baumwall" and not "Reeperbahn". When you want to reach "Reeperbahn" you have to go underground (S-Bahn) at "Landungsbrücken" and travel in the opposite direction one station. Also it is almost impossible to play tricks with those train doors in the way they did.

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Quotes

Irna Frey: There is a difference between them and us. They want to hurt him. We want to help him. You see, Annabel, we're not your enemy. We're your solution.

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Connections

Referenced in The Making of 'A Most Wanted Man' (2015)

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Soundtracks

Falling
Written and Performed by Roy Orbison
© Published by Barbara Orbison Music Company (BMI)
All Rights Administered by BMG Rights Management (US) LLC
(P) With Kind Permission of BMG Rights Management GmbH (Germany)

User Reviews

Realism versus Story-Telling

As much as I respect and at times love director Anton Corbijn's and author John Le Carré's emphasis on realism, this movie is bogged down by a lack of focus on one story-defining goal, which is rather realistic but makes for a difficult watch.

Before anyone gets mad: I am well aware that this is Philip-Seymour Hoffman's last completed film - which was actually the reason for me to go see it. And he is good. PSH-good. Meaning, by the standards of most other actors he is GREAT, but by PSH-standards its a pretty run-of-the- mill role that does not call for a great performance and Hoffman plays it like that: A neat little movie experience in Germany that came along and that he probably did not take too seriously, obviously not suspecting that it would be his final starring role. And he does well when you compare it to Willem Dafoe's performance, which he apparently took very seriously. At times Dafoe seems to hinge on the verge of overacting, at least when compared to the other actors and his surroundings.

But the real trouble, as I said, is the story. It starts out as an espionage thriller focusing on the question whether Issa, a Chechen Muslim having entered Germany illegally, has come as a terrorist and is planning on meeting fundamentalists or other radical elements and maybe blow something up. Slowly the focus then shifts without ever clarifying that Bachmann (Hoffman) and his team no longer suspect Issa to be dangerous, but somehow they start acting like they have come to that conclusion. The focus keeps shifting and in the end you realize the movie was about something totally different all along which it didn't stress. Because it is something that Bachmann would have had to stress and he is not the kind of character who goes on tantrums over things, so it is realistic but makes the storyline seem a little crooked.

Add to that that around the middle the team decides for a course of action that seems drastic at first but then ends up slowing the entire movie down a bit. For about ten to twenty minutes the whole premise just seems to float and not go anywhere. I felt bored for a while before the pace picked up again.

As a last concern: Rachel McAdams just doesn't belong here. This is not really a critique of her or her acting talents which are fine. But while everybody else looks like the characters they play, she just looks like a Hollywood starlet who came to spice up an independent movie with some glamor. Which is completely out of place. It doesn't help that we all but never see her character, who is supposed to be a lawyer, do anything lawyerly other than speak to Dafoe's rich banker on her client's behalf. She is just an alien in this world of low-life agents and bureaucrats.

What we end up with is a pretty okay movie with some great photography and interesting themes that are, however, not told all that stringently. But if you came to enjoy Hoffman's last performance, you will get your opportunity to enjoy, even if it isn't his most outstanding work. It still shows that the man was a genius on screen.

By the way: If you see this with someone from Germany, prepare that they start giggling when they see "Michael", a government employee aiding Bachmann: The actor is Herbert Grönemeyer, a well-known and often ridiculed pop-singer in Germany who very rarely acts in movies. Germans are primed to laugh at him trying to act (as few remember his pretty well-done starring role in classic "Das Boot").