The Amateur Review
The “revenge for your dead wife” trope is a tough one to tackle, and unfortunately, James Hawes’ The Amateur doesn’t bring anything new to the table.
Rami Malek stars as Charles Heller, a socially awkward cryptographer working in the CIA’s basement. When his wife is killed by criminals in London, Heller blackmails the agency into training him so he can hunt down the terrorists responsible. Though the role feels a little too close to his Mr. Robot persona, Malek slides into the “grieving husband turned avenger” archetype with ease. His transformation into a reluctant killer is surprisingly compelling: he takes down enemies in inventive and occasionally spectacular ways, using brains over brawn.
Heller is an intriguing protagonist, navigating a globe-spanning revenge mission from London to Paris and on to Romania and Russia. Unfortunately, the ing cast doesn’t receive the same level of development. Laurence Fishburne, who plays CIA agent Henderson, shares the spotlight with Malek but is relegated to a minor role that adds little to the plot.
Caitríona Balfe’s Inquiline is the only secondary character with any real depth, but even her presence can’t make up for the narrative gaps. Characters like Jon Bernthal’s CIA agent are introduced with dramatic flair, only to disappear and resurface with no real purpose. It’s frustrating and adds to the feeling that much of the story is missing.
Many of them appear more like cameos than meaningful presences, creating a chaotic and disted narrative. The constant introduction of new faces, without clear motivations or narrative weight, leaves the audience wondering why these characters exist at all. For example, it would have made far more sense to combine the roles played by Laurence Fishburne and Jon Bernthal into a single character. This could have justified the dramatic build-up around Bernthal’s big introduction and given more depth to Fishburne’s otherwise marginal role. Instead, both characters feel underused, and the story suffers from too many loose ends and a lack of focus.
Despite a runtime of 123 minutes, The Amateur feels rushed. As mentioned above, several plotlines are left hanging, and key emotional beats seem to have been cut. It’s easy to suspect that the original version of the film was much longer, and in the process of trimming it down, the emotional core and connective tissue of the story were lost. Interestingly, the film’s lack of detail and context actually makes me curious enough to seek out the original novel by Robert Littell. It feels like the answers and the emotional depth might live in the source material, offering a more complete version of the story that The Amateur only hints at.
The Amateur sets high expectations with a stellar cast and an intriguing premise, but it ultimately falls short. While it’s not a terrible film, I actually found it entertaining; it feels more like a solid “dad movie” for a lazy Sunday than a must-watch thriller.
★★ 1/2
In UK cinemas on April 11th / Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, Laurence Fishburne, Caitríona Balfe, Jon Bernthal / Dir: James Hawes / Hutch Parker Entertainment / 12A / 20th Century Studios
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