The Amateur (2025)

There's a fairly decent idea at the heart of The Amateur, I guess, but it's weakened by some casting and the pacing of the whole thing. At least one character turn doesn't seem to make any sense, there are a few too many coincidences for something revolving around someone trying to out-think others, and you're likely to forget all about it within a week or two.

Rami Malek plays Heller, an employee of the CIA who seeks revenge after the death of his wife (Sarah, played by Rachel Brosnahan). There are some problems with his plan though. One, he's a tech guy, and not really any use out in the field. Two, the people responsible for the death of his wife are people that the CIA don't necessarily want taken out of action immediately. Three, putting himself in the field might be a very easy way for the CIA to ensure that he isn't able to bother them again.

Based on a novel by Robert Littell, The Amateur has been turned into a movie by writers Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli. Those two writers don't have many real highlights in their pasts, which would explain the flat end result here, and director James Hawes, while a very competent film-maker, doesn't have the imagination or flair to liven things up. I will happily give Hawes a pass, considering the fact that he sat in the director's chair for the first season of the superb Slow Horses, but it soon becomes clear that this is an action thriller made by people who aren't quite attuned to the rhythms and requirements of blockbuster entertainment.

And, as much as I enjoyed his fine work in Mr. Robot, one of the main requirements of blockbuster entertainment would seem to be avoiding the casting of Rami Malek in a central role. He was the weakest part of the excellent No Time To Die, he was outshone by a cast of more memorable supporting players in the Night At The Museum movies, he's attached his name to Need For Speed, Battleship, and Dolittle, and I'll only give him credit for Bohemian Rhapsody because that felt like the one role he was actually perfect for. It's all well and good to have him supported by people like Rachel Brosnahan, Jon Bernthal, Adrian Martinez, Laurence Fishburne, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, and Michael Stuhlbarg, but not very satisfying when almost all of them are sorely underused. 

It's easy to see the appeal of this. Make an action thriller hero who has to keep using his brain instead of brawn and/or firepower. It needed something else though. Either some shinier star power, some more inventive set-pieces, or a plot with many more interesting twists and turns. It's decent, staying pretty easily watchable for most of the runtime (which clocks in at about the 2 hour mark), but you may get to the end credits and decide that you could have picked a far better viewing option. I know I did. 

5/10

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Mubi Monday: Shirley (2020)

While I didn’t hate watching Shirley, a film that is nicely put together around a talented cast who fit well in their roles, I must say that I wasn’t entirely won over by the central conceit, and it made me hanker for the portrayal of Shirley Jackson I enjoyed a bit more in Set Fire To The Stars. That is a bit unfair though, as it isn’t exactly comparing like for like, but I figured I would take a minute to recommend that little gem of a film.

Anyway, this film is based on a book by Susan Scarf Merrell, and it places the famous Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss) and her husband, Stanley (Michael Stuhlbarg), in the middle of a load of drama, both past and present, that allows others to see the strange and damaging co-dependency locking them together in their relationship. Odessa Young and Logan Lerman play Rose and Fred Nemser, a young couple who end up in the Jackson household, and they unwittingly become the latest distractions for two people who seem to constantly struggle to find ways to occupy themselves (when not being creative, intellectually arrogant, or unfaithful).

Directed well enough by Josephine Decker, who has helmed a number of other films I have enjoyed (and one I just couldn’t stand), this uses the script by Sarah Gubbins to sketch out some characters that are then given the time and space to breathe and play around. Making use of real people in a fictional story is a strange balancing act, but it seems to me that this doesn’t do a bad job of using the main premise to examine the relationship between Shirley and Stanley, as well as looking at how they “played” with others. Some elements may be entirely unnecessary, but they still intertwine nicely with the idea of putting the Jacksons under the glare of a bright spotlight while their dynamic is dissected.

Moss is very good in the title role, as she tends to be in almost everything she does nowadays, and she’s unafraid to play her character in a way that shows her actively repelling people. She’s cold and cool, although occasionally moved by anger, and does well to avoid histrionics and tics. Stuhlbarg plays the less likeable of the two, and he also tackles his role without any hint of concern or softness. Lerman does well in a way that has him being the least memorable of the central quartet, but it’s Young who gets to be the heart of the film, playing the observer who becomes drawn further and further into a large and dangerous web. Constantly drawn to the see the creative spark while trying not to be burned, Young delivers an excellent performance, striking just the right balance of naïveté and strength, that helps her to remain much more significant than she is considered by any of the other main characters.

I just wish we didn’t need the fictional framing device here. It feels like there’s a great film to be made about Shirley Jackson, but this isn’t it. It’s very good, but it’s not great, particularly when it comes to the darker side of her life (her mental health, the dysfunctional marriage, and more). Not one I think I will ever revisit, but I would be interested to hear from others who know a bit more about the real Shirley Jackson, and whether that makes you like this film any more or any less.

6/10

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Prime Time: Miss Sloane (2016)

Although essentially a drama about a very skilled lobbyist being put in a tight corner by people wanting to render her powerless, Miss Sloane could equally be described as a con movie. Then again, maybe that is very much part of the point. Viewers are shown how lobbying is often a con game, and the system is open to equal amounts of abuse from the good and the bad, with both sides often believing that they are on the right side of a worthwhile political cause.

Jessica Chastain is the titular (Miss) Elizabeth Sloane, a successful and shrewd lobbyist who decides to jump ship, heading to join “the other side”, when there’s another bill being proposed to help improve gun control laws. Her passionate opposition to this makes her a target, which leads to her being requested to testify at a congressional hearing about her behaviour, and ethics, throughout her time working in politics. As she seems to make one or two minor mistakes, potentially bringing a house of cards crashing down upon her head, it becomes clear that the hearing is all part of the battle between two teams on opposite sides of the gun control debate.

Although writer Jonathan Perera doesn’t spoonfeed viewers, Miss Sloane just about manages to convey everything it needs to convey in a smart and concise manner. There are other approaches to the material that might have worked equally well, or even better, but Perera relies on getting us to trust a main character that, above all else, seems to be all too aware of the consequences of her actions. When things become a bit too busy or confusing, never mind, we are always right alongside someone who is convinced that they are doing the right thing.

Director John Madden has faith in the script and cast, and rightly so, as well as the patience of viewers. A lot of this movie is made up of people debating in rooms of various sizes, but it’s intelligent and snappy enough to be entertaining without any unnecessary bells and whistles added to it. Every aspect of the production seems to have been handled with care, the camera is set, and the cast get to give their best. Which they certainly do.

I have recently come to appreciate Chastain more and more onscreen, and this is one of her best roles. She is brilliantly relentless and smart, often acting in a way that would turn you off a main character, but helped by the fact that her considerable intellect and determination is aimed squarely at the gun lobby. Mark Strong is his usual dependable excellence, playing a boss who has to trust his new employee as she looks set to head further and further into deep and dangerous waters. John Lithgow is the senator chairing the hearing, and it’s a fine turn from him, while there are equally great roles for Michael Stuhlberg (a standout for him, playing a “shark” on the opposing team), Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alison Pill, Sam Waterston, and Jake Lacy. Everyone seems to be using others or being used, but it’s something that feels more like acceptable collateral damage in the fight for the greater good.

It isn’t always pleasant to see how often the plans of government are actually crafted by those hidden away behind the main figureheads, but it’s important to remember it. Knowing the system can lead people to more easily hold the system to account, which could, perhaps, improve it. Maybe I am just being far too optimistic there. Regardless, Miss Sloane is a worthwhile watch, both informative and entertaining, and it’s a reminder that politics is like playing chess with a panicking pigeon; sometimes only one person knows the game, but the winner can still end up covered in shit.

8/10

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