A Most Wanted Man

Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), a half Chechen half Russian refugee, enters Hamburg illegally, and with the aid of the local Muslim community tries to recover his late Russian father’s fortune. Identified by several international intelligence agencies as a potentially serious terror threat, he is hunted down by all sides.

The late Phillip Seymour Hoffman stars in his final leading role as Günther Bachmann, the heavy drinking, chain smoking head of the German intelligence team. He starts the investigation into Karpov with the aim of finding out exactly what his intentions in Germany are. Is he really the dangerous jihadist that Interpol considers him to be, or is he just a desperate refugee?

Rachel McAdams takes on the role of Annabel Richter, a concerned immigration lawyer, who attempts to help Karpov. But when Bachmann convinces her to aid in their capture of Karpov, it can only be a matter of time before he is arrested. But which team will get to him first?

An adaptation of the John le Carré novel of the same name, the film is tense and gripping right from the beginning to the very end. Every member of the cast delivers a strong performance, but McAdams and Hoffman truly stand out. A political thriller, A Most Wanted Man is guaranteed to keep you guessing throughout. True to the genre, there is plenty of ambiguity and uncertainty, and the audience is made to question the true nature and intentions of each character. The film is all the more powerful for its compellingly conceivable premise and its relevance to recent events. Simply put: it is a must-see.

Jess Walker