The Amateur

The Amateur

2025, 124 mins., PG-13

Directed by James Hawes

Screenplay by Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli

Based on the Novel by Robert Littell.

Produced by Hutch Parker, Dan Wilson, Rami Malek, Joel B. Michaels.

Cast: Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Catriona Balfe, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Bernthal

** out of ****

“The Amateur” may qualify as one of the more frustrating experiences of recent years. Here is a movie that exchanges brawn for brains and yet somehow it feels totally weightless. Nothing seems to connect in this film and everything seems to be at arms-length because neither the direction nor the screenplay make a compelling effort to involve in its main character’s plight.

Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) a CIA analyst and technician, lives on a farm with his wife Sarah  (Rachel Brosnahan) where he is restoring a Cessna for her birthday. While Sarah leaves on a business trip to London, Charlie uncovers a conspiracy that links his boss (Holt McCallany) to a string of politically motivated murders. Upon to attempting to report his findings to the agency director (Julianne Nicholson) he is informed that his wife has been murdered in a terrorist attack in London.

With justice on his mind, Heller sets about identifying her killers through the use the most sophisticated technology available, locating each of them throughout the world, and undergoing training with a hardened specialist (Laurence Fishburne). We find out that Heller doesn’t the makeup of a killer because he’s too timid when it comes to handling a gun. But he is a brilliant technician which proves valuable when he goes into the field.

We see flashes of Heller’s intelligence without ever getting a full dimensional picture of it because the screenplay cuts too many corners. We get to see that he’s able to use highly explosive weapons despite his timidity because the script contrives it instead of him using a gun. We see that he’s able to plant an explosive device but we never see how he’s able to construct it, where he gets the materials from, or how he’s able to install it. The script doesn’t make time for enhancing its character with that kind of depth.

The direction by James Hawes is even flatter. He goes for a generic visual style that makes it look like anybody could have made this film. His pacing is mid-tempo at best which kills whatever suspense could’ve been built into this material. There is a way that even this script could have worked but Hawes only sinks it with formulaic flair. He also shortchanges the characters because we see a lot but we don’t feel what they do which lowers the emotional stakes greatly.

If there’s one thing that does work it’s the performances. Malek is so good and tries really hard to elevate the material with a complex performance. We witness Heller’s pain and want to feel for him but the script and direction and let him down at every turn. Too bad! If the rest of the movie had been on his level it could’ve been something.