The Amateur ★★★

Released: 11 April 2025

Director: James Hawes

Starring: Rami Malek, Lawrence Fishburne, Rachel Brosnahan

Based on the eponymous 1981 novel by James Littell, The Amateur is the second feature film by One Life director James Hawes. Starring an ensemble cast that includes Rami Malek, Lawrence Fishburne and Rachel Brosnahan, the vigilante thriller follows a CIA cryptographer who embarks on a revenge mission after the death of his wife.

Hawes’ feature is not the first adaptation of Littell’s novel as a synonymous film was released in 1981, starring John Savage and Christopher Plummer. The feature received a mildly positive response but its failure to break even at the box office allowed an opportunity to remake it for the digital age – with Hawes, the series one director of AppleTV+ series Slow Horses, at the helm.

At first glance, The Amateur presents itself as a conventional thriller – a protagonist seeks justice but goes rogue when authorities refuse to get involved. In this instance, the lead character is a nerdy cryptographer who presents himself as all brains and no brawn – but brains are just as important in a high-tech world. The Amateur‘s paranoia-filled production and Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli’s screenplay place an overwhelming emphasis on AI and surveillance to not only reiterate that someone is watching you at all times but that it would take a skilled person to evade detection. Despite the film’s title, Heller is anything but an amateur. His peers quickly underestimate him due to a lack of instinctual skills yet his analytical and technical mindset makes him a formidable foe, thinking two steps ahead while his peers stumble due to his methodical planning and articulate red herrings. 

Despite his intentions, Heller shows that he is a compassionate character. His unfamiliarity with espionage skills such as shooting and picking locks humanise him as the grief-stricken widower with no outlet for closure. In addition, the distrust and lack of genuine empathy from his peers and employers allow him to become increasingly isolated. But there is a quiet willingness on Heller’s part to connect with others such as his handler Anderson (Laurence Fishburne) and agent Davies (Caitríona Balfe), whose loss of her husband resonates with Heller. Heller’s rapport with the latter particularly evokes a gentle tenderness among a world of cold-hearted characters and along with his poignant recollections of his wife Sarah (Brosnahan), it gently develops a surprising character study that explores the emotional turmoil caused by grief.

After his roles in Mr Robot and No Time to Die, Malek has proven he can portray a talented yet closed-off genius. Subsequently, his performance is a driving force in The Amateur that blends conviction and conflict. In contrast, Fishburne instils an underused charisma while Balfe’s Davies feels like a significant but wasted character. In fact, the film’s star appeal, buoyed with notable names such as Jon Bernthal and Michael Stuhlbarg among the supporting cast, ultimately end up with fleeting performances.

The Amateur feels like more comfortable ground for Hawes, using smart direction and thrilling set pieces to enable Heller’s character development to grow amid numerous obstacles such as backstabbers and occasionally violent encounters. His approach in establishing a clear narrative reinforces the good guy-bad guy premise – something that can easily become blurred in a spy thriller – but quickly causes its suspense and pacing to wane between the CIA’s inability to catch Heller and the latter’s numerous globetrotting exploits. In a rush to wrap up the final act, these increasingly noticeable inconsistencies subsequently cause the intrigue of The Amateur, as well as its potential of an intricately designed thriller, to falter.

Overall, The Amateur resembles a modern spy film that, similar to Stephen Soderbergh’s Black Bag, plays on one’s cunning rather than one’s punch. Yet despite Malek’s complex performance and a promising narrative, the erratic pacing and character development compromise its intensity, resulting in a lacklustre thriller.