Let's get the obvious out of the way. As this was Philip Seymour Hoffman's last completed role before he died, there is going to be a lot of critics and others falling over themselves to like it since he was so undeniably good in his career. Whether or not they really mean that praise, I have no idea. But I have to say, I have liked him since I first saw him in 1996's Twister, but became a real fan of his from 1997's Boogie Nights. That was a seminal role for him and showed that we had a great new talent on the scene. Since then, he has been nothing but an asset on any film he has been on, a consummate professional who never phoned it on. He doesn't have certain signature tools like Robert DeNiro (What did I tell you? What did I tell you?), "Shouty" Al Pacino (She's got a...GREAT ASS!), and John Malkovich (I-must-now-e-nun-ci-ate), merely just great performances time and time again, even when they weren't necessarily needed (Catching Fire or MI III, anyone?).
Based on the great John Le Carré novel of the same name, Hoffman plays Günther, a German spymaster who runs a counterterrorist squad that is quasi-illegal in Hamburg. He is being punished after ruining an earlier assignment in Beirut. The squad is tasked with building intelligence networks among the immigrant Muslim populations. He is trying to find evidence that a local businessman is secretly financing extremist organizations. So he begins to build a network from a local illegal Chechen to catch larger and larger fish. That's really it.
The genius of this film is that it portrays what spycraft is probably really like. As exciting as James Bond and Jason Bourne are, they are really not what espionage is about. It is more the drudgery of dat-to-day work to find that one nugget than can make a difference. Running spy networks is really about gaining trust from your sources, just as any policeman or journalist will tell you. It is a dirty, I exciting, but necessary business. Most movies do a horrible job portraying this side, but a couple go good recommendations if you like this type of story include The Little Drummer Girl, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (both by Le Carré as well), The Counterfeit Traitor and to a lesser extent, Spy Game. Hoffman is the perfect choice for this role both for his talent, but also his unassuming appearance. Good spies don't look good, like Daniel Craig or Angelina Jolie. They should blend into the background or else they draw attention to themselves. Hoffman delivers an incredibly controlled performance that shows empathy and yet detachment from everything around him. He also brings an earnestness to the role as well as he is trying to make the world safer, is good at his job, but is unappreciated by those above him. When taken together, it is such a nuanced performance that is utterly believable. And not just because this is his last completed role. He has been delivering like this for close to 20 years, and while we will see him again in Mockingjay, that will not be worthy of his talent a movie like this was. See it, and see it again, for a truly intelligent experience that will entertain as well.
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