Based on the novel by John le Carré, and featuring a first-rate cast including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright and Daniel Brühl, all under the guidance of director Anton Corbijn, it’s hard to see how “A Most Wanted Man” could fail. And while it didn’t quite do that, after premiering over the past few days at the Sundance Film Festival, reaction hasn’t exactly been ecstatic for the slow moving, ponderous drama.
The story itself certainly has potential, telling the tale of a half-Chechen, half-Russian, tortured half-to-death immigrant who turns up in Hamburg’s Islamic community, laying claim to his father’s ill-gotten fortune. Both German and U.S. security agencies take a close interest in the man as they try to figure out if he’s an oppressed victim or an extremist with deadly plans. But what sounds thrilling on paper isn’t quite so in execution, with our review from the Sundance saying: “Not as arty as ‘The American‘ or ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy‘ or as soapy and quickly paced as its small screen counterparts, ‘A Most Wanted Man’ is left somewhere in the middle.”
Still, it’s a chance to watch this cast play off each other, and you can see Hoffman and McAdams do just that below in the first clip from the movie. No release date yet, but Roadside Attractions will be releasing the film stateside later this year.
