The Tailor of Panama Reviewed by Christian Pyle Directed by John Boorman Written by Boorman, Andrew Davies, and John Le Carre (based on a novel by Le Carre) Starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Brendan Gleeson Official site: http://www.spe.sony.com/movies/jump/f_tailorofpanama.html
In his latest film, Pierce Brosnan plays a British secret agent. Imagine! What a range!
In his defense, though, this spy, Andy Osnard, shares with James Bond only his profession and his knack for pissing off his bosses. After a series of personal scandals, Andy is being exiled to Panama. As soon as he gets off the plane, Andy makes contact with Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush), a British tailor who claims to have a Saville Row pedigree. Since Harry cuts suits for everybody who's anybody in Panama, Andy figures that Harry can provide him with info juicy enough to convince London to send money. As it happens, Harry is deeply in debt and is willing to take Andy's offer. So he spins Andy tales of a group of revolutionaries planning to overthrow the gangsters who control Panama. Harry points to his friend Mickie Abraxas (Brendan Gleeson), once a vocal opponent of Noriega but now a drunken shell of a man, and his receptionist Marta (Leonor Varela), whose face was scarred by Noriega's thugs, as leaders of the opposition. Andy sees that Harry's stories, true or not, could be profitable.
This movie reminds me of "The Silver Bears," an obscure 1977 film in which the Mafia takes over a Swiss bank and finds itself the victim of an elaborate silver-mine scam. Like that movie, "Tailor" presents a satiric world where most people are corrupt to some degree and where the few innocents suffer from the machinations of the guilty. In "Tailor" someone describes Panama as "Casablanca without heroes." That's an apt description; in this movie Bogie would have sold the letters of transit to the highest bidder, seduced Bergman, and left Paul Henreid holding the bag.
But I wouldn't be surprised if "Tailor" was a more accurate depiction of how real-life spies and governments operate than any other movie on the subject.
Although Brosnan gets higher billing, Geoffrey Rush is the lead actor, and he does his usual top-notch job. Harry Pendel is a complex character. He's a sweet person, a devoted husband (to Jamie Lee Curtis' character), father, and friend. He tries to embody the Saville Row tradition, believing that all the best values of Civilization can be summarized by a well-cut suit. However, his whole life is built on lies. The ghost of his criminal mentor Uncle Benny (playwright Harold Pinter) appears to Harry whenever Harry is in danger of telling the truth. Rush plays the contradictions of Harry's character expertly.
Pierce Brosnan has a less challenging job than Rush but does an excellent job of playing off his image. Here the natural charm that he plays as suave as Bond and Remington Steele is played here as slick and smarmy. The line between suave and smarmy proves the be surprisingly thin. Perhaps that is why Brosnan chose this role. Since he's planning to leave the Bond series after the next installment (due next year), one would think that he'd want to play anything except a British secret agent. Although he's only been playing Bond since 1995, the shadow of 007 has lingered over him his entire career; it's almost as if he had a visible tattoo saying Born to Be Bond. Leaving the role is a very risky move for his career. Consider the post-Bond careers of the other actors who've had the role; even Sean Connery had a lonely, hitless decade before his Oscar-winning comeback in "The Untouchables."
Bottom line: A cynical, entertaining antidote to Bond-inspired spy flicks
2001 Christian L. Pyle
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