Cast from the mould of The Bourne Identity, Spy Game, Mission Impossible and other jet-fuelled high-tech action movies, The Amateur tells the story of CIA analyst Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) who avenges the death of his wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) following a terrorist attack in London.
Charlie is overcome with denial, shock, anger and grief. The love they held for each other makes the loss sting even more. The screenplay is written by Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down) and Gary Spinelli (Impulse) based on the novel by Robert LiSell.
When the CIA refuses to act meaningfully to find his wife’s killers, Charlie goes rogue and takes it upon himself to find his wife’s killers. He blackmails his agency into providing him some basic training. Colonel Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) is charged with training Charlie who he believes is completely inept. “Is this a punishment?” he protests.
Charlie is an ordinary CIA analyst and decoder with a basement office. But he has to do something to make him feel better.
Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) and Sarah Heller (Rachel Brosnahan) Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios
He doesn’t realize how extraordinary he is until he is thrust into the dangerous world of covert operations, international crime, and moral dilemmas as he seeks justice. His thirst for revenge forces him to confront his grief for Sarah and his loss of trust for his revered institution. He comes to understand that snuffing out his wife’s killers will not ultimately bring him the peace he sorely craves. By the end of his ordeal, he’s still feeling empty as he decides how to forge a new path forward without Sarah.
Charlie doesn’t kill in cold blood. He gives the killers a chance to repent before he annihilates them from a safe distance.
Heller is a man of small stature, but large potential. He’s underestimated, under-appreciated, and overlooked. He’s anxious and socially awkward. What he lacks in physical prowess, he more than compensates for with his ingenuity, smarts, and resourcefulness. He surprises even himself at the strength he finds within.
Colonel Henderson (Laurence Fishburne) and Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) Photo by John Wilson/ 20th Century Studios
As director James Hawes explains, “We’ve all seen those movies where somebody turns into a ninja, suddenly given the skills of Jason Bourne. It’s not very rooted, it’s not very true, and that’s not what happens here.”
“He’s a genius out of water,” says co-screenwriter Ken Nolan. “He’s the guy who understands computers and security, but personal relationships confuse him. He’s the kind of genius who doesn’t quite fit into normal society.”
As such, Heller’s deliberate emotional journey forms the backbone of The Amateur. He doesn’t discover hidden superpowers or acquire a cadre of special weaponry.
The Amateur also explores systemic institutional corruption. The London terrorist incident was actually a U.S.-led drone attack and reported as a suicide bombing to sell it to the world in a more palatable wrapper.
Director Moore (Holt McCallany) is the head of the Special Activities Center (SAC), a covert action and military operaIons division of the CIA. He rationalizes his choices as being a matter of collateral damage.
“The world is an imperfect place, and sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils,” he asserts. “And very often, no matter what choice you make, someone is going to get hurt.”
“The film explores the dilemma of whether personal loss should take precedence over the greater good of national security.”
Inquiline (Caitríona Balfe) is a mercurial hacker, and spiritual mentor of sorts, with whom Charlie communicates via secure messages online as he globetrots in search of his targets. She compels him to question his personal vendetta and its cost. What is his endgame here? Nothing will fully resolve Charlie’s grief nor will taking out the killers resurrect his beloved Sarah.
The characters in Charlie’s orbit are deliberate and represent different spectrum of his psyche – the good, the bad, the just, the unjust, the jaded and the unjaded, the sensitive and the insensitive. He embodies all of them.
Despite the thrills and spills and truly imaginative ways to exact revenge, The Amateur boils down to a simple question of how far a bereaved man will go to avenge the death of a loved one?
