Pierce Brosnan stars as the anti-Bond in maverick director John Boorman's adaptation of legendary spy novelist John le Carre's seamy tour of post-Noriega Panama. A British intelligence agent whose taste for gambling and other men's wives has put him on the wrong side of his bosses at MI6, Andy Osnard (Brosnan) is posted to the backwater of Panama to atone for his sins. To that end, he recruits upscale tailor Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush), leveraging the man's financial problems and questionable past to gain access to information about the activities of his elite clientele. Meanwhile, Osnard remains true to form, recruiting the personal services of lovely embassy official Francesca (Catherine McCormack), and attempting the same with Harry's wife, Louisa (Jamie Lee Curtis). When Harry's best friend Micki (Brendan Gleeson), a former member of the anti-Noriega underground, now a broken man, begins blustering about politics in front of Osnard, both of these con men begin to see him as the solution to their problems. The mundane tragedy of espionage familiar to le Carre's Cold Warriors has been replaced by farce with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Boorman creates an atmosphere redolent with U.S.-abetted corruption in this well written and acted film, which also features playwright Harold Pinter in a cameo role.
(20 votes)
2.
In this seductive spy thriller based on the best-selling novel by John Le Carre, Academy Award®-winner Geoffrey Rush (Shine) delivers a dazzling performance as Harry Pendel, an ex-con turned tailor to the rich and infamous and married to smart and sexy Louisa (Jamie Lee Curtis - True Lies), Directed by Academy Award®-nominee John Boorman (Hope and Glory, Deliverance) and set in steamy Panama, where nothing is what it seems, Andy Osnard (Pierce Brosnan - The Thomas Crown Affair), a suave and ruthless British spy, entices Harry into eavesdropping on the powerful politicians he clothes. But Harry's talent for storytelling compels him to weave an elaborate tale that's not only taken as truth, but sets off a chain of events that threatens to destroy everything he treasures most in life.
(20 votes)
3.
The sly conceit at the heart of The Tailor of Panama is that tailors are the secret-keepers of the power elite: customise fine apparel for the rich and powerful, and you'll hear things only whispered in the halls of government. The film was co-adapted by John le Carré from his own novel, and directed by John Boorman with a delicious spin on the traditions of the spy genre. Pierce Brosnan qualifies as James Bond's black-sheep sibling as British MI6 agent Andy Osnard, viewing women only in terms of sexual conquest and conducting spy business by his own flexible set of rules. Banished to Panama to pay for recent indiscretions, Andy connects with Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush), a British ex-convict who's built a lucrative cover as tailor to Panama's highest officials. With the coveted Panama canal now under local control, Andy's arrived to see what Harry knows about the canal's pending multinational sale.
As Andy observes, Panama is "Casablanca without heroes", and that's precisely how Boorman depicts it: a melting pot of greed, ambition, and backroom manoeuvring, where Andy can bed an embassy official (Catherine McCormack) while squeezing information from Harry, who concocts a phony "silent opposition" that puts British and American forces on full alert. Harry's wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) is pulled into the scenario by Andy's ruthless scheming, and The Tailor of Panama reveals how a simple fabrication can provoke trigger-happy forces around the globe. Part comedy and part political horror thriller--with a tragic supporting role for Brendan Gleason, from Boorman's The General--this is old-fashioned spy stuff made new by leCarré's inventive plotting and keen ear for the dialogue of rogues. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
(20 votes)
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