The Amateur (2025)
Directed by: James Hawes
Premise: Based on the novel by Robert Littell. A CIA cryptographer’s (Rami Malek) wife is murdered by terrorists. He uses the agency’s resources to find and kill the terrorists.
What Works: The Amateur is a familiar espionage thriller, a kind of film that was popular a few decades ago. However, The Amateur approaches this genre with some intelligence and a dose of emotional realism. The film centers on an introverted cryptographer, played by Rami Malek, who is not physically imposing at all but who is very good at puzzles, engineering, and computer software. The movie has an appealing Revenge of the Nerds quality in which Malek’s character realizes that he won’t become a super soldier and instead uses his intellectual talents. That allows the filmmakers to concoct some creative scenarios in which Malek’s character devises boobytraps that ensnare his targets. The Amateur also has a vivid sense of grief. Malek’s character is heartbroken and the character’s angst colors the whole movie. This quality distinguishes The Amateur from the average revenge thriller. The film also possesses a wry sense of humor. The film is never outright comedic but it has a bleak sense of humor that’s complements the tone and alleviates the seriousness of the rest of the picture. The Amateur works as well as it does in part because of the management of the tone and especially because of Rami Malek’s performance. He conveys the character’s intelligence and emotional state in a way that is sympathetic and engaging.
What Doesn’t: The Amateur includes a subplot in which Malek’s character discovers a conspiracy among senior CIA management who are carrying out and covering up extrajudicial assassinations that killed civilians. The film characterizes this revelation as a major scandal and it would be if not for the fact that it’s public knowledge that the United States’ counterterrorism operations routinely do exactly this. The film’s moral outrage comes across naïve and The Amateur skirts around any meaningful political or moral implications. The story includes the CIA director (Julianne Nicholson) eventually getting wise to what her subordinates are doing. The film pretends that these killings are the fault of a few bad apples instead of the obvious outcome of the United States’ foreign policy. The story is poised to make some broader implications about the CIA and uses of violence—there is a parallel between Malek’s character and the impugned agency managers—but the filmmakers opt for a safe and conventional ending that doesn’t challenge anything.
Bottom Line: The Amateur is a well-made espionage thriller. Working within the conventions of these kinds of films, it satisfies what viewers look for while distinguishing itself with intelligence and emotion. However, The Amateur is content to stay in that box and does not question the political implications of this story or its genre.
Episode: #1044 (April 20, 2025)