A Most Wanted Man (2014)
78%RT Audience Score: 65%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 6 nominations
Smart, subtle, and steadily absorbing, A Most Wanted Man proves once again that John le Carre books make for sharp, thoughtful thrillers
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance in A Most Wanted Man is so good, it’s almost criminal. The film itself may not be the most exciting espionage thriller out there, but Hoffman’s portrayal of a German intelligence agent is worth the watch. Plus, Willem Dafoe and Rachel McAdams provide solid support. It’s a shame we won’t get to see Hoffman elevate any more movies with his talent.
Production Company(ies)
Selznick International Pictures,,
Distributor
Roadside Attractions
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Hamburg, Germany
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language
Year of Release
2014
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:DolbyDatasat Dolby Atmos
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:2h 1m
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Language(s):English, Turkish, Arabic
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Country of origin:United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 1, 2014 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 4, 2014
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Grigoriy Dobrygin, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright, Homayoun Ershadi, directed by Anton Corbijn, written by Andrew Bovell, drama, R rating, box office gross $17.2M, reviewed by Gary Thompson, Dana Stevens, Eric Kohn, Scott Marks, Guy Lodge, Tim Grierson, Jonah Koslofsky, Dan Brightmore, Joanne Laurier, Richard Crouse, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s last film, Muslim scholar, German agent, inheritance, financing terrorists, espionage, John le Carre adaptation, Stephen Cornwell, Gail Egan, Malte Grunert, Simon Cornwell, Andrea Calderwood produced
Worldwide gross: $36,233,517
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $45,282,737
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,384
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,938,139
US/Canada gross: $17,237,855
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $21,542,961
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,387
US/Canada opening weekend: $2,687,227
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $3,358,354
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,151
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $15,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $18,746,208
Production budget ranking: 1,395
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $10,094,833
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $16,441,696
ROI to date (est.): 57%
ROI ranking: 1,115
Rachel McAdams – Annabel Richter
Grigoriy Dobrygin – Issa Karpov
Willem Dafoe – Tommy Brue
Robin Wright – Martha Sullivan
Homayoun Ershadi – Dr. Abdullah
Director(s)
Anton Corbijn
Writer(s)
Andrew Bovell
Producer(s)
Stephen Cornwell, Gail Egan, Malte Grunert, Simon Cornwell, Andrea Calderwood
Film Festivals
Sundance, Berlin
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 6 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (197) | Top Critics (64) | Fresh (168) | Rotten (29)
Hoffman’s an actor who could do just about anything, but being authentically German is not one of them.
January 5, 2015
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
One of the countless sad things about losing Hoffman is the realization that we’ll never get to watch him single-handedly elevate an otherwise OK movie again.
January 5, 2015
Dana Stevens
Slate
TOP CRITIC
“A Most Wanted Man” allows Hoffman to go out with not only one of his best performances, but one that epitomizes his strengths.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: B+
Eric Kohn
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
This is the sharpest, most reasonable tale of espionage and intrigue since John Boorman’s Tailor of Panama.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Scott Marks
San Diego Reader
TOP CRITIC
Corbijn… has found richer genre material for his gray, gusty aesthetic than 2010’s supremely well-styled but emotionally vacant thriller “The American.”
January 5, 2015 | Rating: B+
Guy Lodge
HitFix
TOP CRITIC
The film’s confident tonal control is a compliment to Corbijn’s skill, but it’s also recognition of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s wonderfully controlled central performance. You don’t realize how stunning the whole experience really was until it’s over.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: 8.9/10
Tim Grierson
Paste Magazine
TOP CRITIC
A Most Wanted Man is about as drab as it is inessential.
June 4, 2021
Jonah Koslofsky
The Spool
There’s able support from Willem Dafoe as a banker holding the keys to Issa’s fate as the third act tension ramps towards a climax Hoffman owns.
May 26, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
Dan Brightmore
NME
A Most Wanted Man … is an intellectually incoherent film, out of sync with a reality in which intelligence agencies are a barbaric expression of the emerging authoritarian state.
February 26, 2021
Joanne Laurier
World Socialist Web Site
Features a measured but intense performance from Hoffman, but the film itself isn’t as interesting as he is.
February 1, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/5
Richard Crouse
Richard Crouse
The 2-star reviews floating around are genuinely baffling. This is a film that requires and rewards a little patience, with a superb swansong from Hoffman and an excellent McAdams matching Corbijn’s strong direction.
May 25, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Tom Bond
One Room With A View
A Most Wanted Man is an efficient espionage drama that, whilst in no way revelatory, is attuned to its source material’s non-heroic and morally ambiguous approach to a well-worn genre.
April 3, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
Patrick Gamble
CineVue…
Plot
When a brutally-tortured half-Chechen, half-Russian immigrant turns up in Hamburg’s Islamic community laying claim to his father’s ill-gotten fortune, both German and US security agencies take a close interest: as the clock ticks down and the stakes rise, the race is on to establish this most wanted man’s true identity
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance in A Most Wanted Man is described as “wonderfully controlled” and “one of his best.”
Anton-Corbijn.jpg
