1 week Ago By Stephen Schaefer
As Charlie Heller in “The Amateur,” Rami Malek, 43, is a dutiful, some might say obsessed, CIA cryptographer who works, literally, in the bowels of the Langley, VA headquarters, many stories below ground.He’s happily married, although he won’t take time away from work to travel with his wife to London. Little do they know as the globe-trotting film begins that this morning’s coffee and conversation between Charlie and Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan of “The Marvelous Mrs.
Maisel”) will be their last.For the next day in St. Pancras railroad station, Sarah’s murdered in a terrorist attack.
Charlie, after the shock and the grieving, decides to track down and kill the four responsible. Even though, as the title announces, he’s an amateur.“I gravitate to those characters who are on this fragile intersection of feeling broken and maybe brilliant at the same time.
Going through grief and persevering,” Malek said last weekend in a virtual press conference with his castmates.“This is a unique take on a psychological thriller we’ve never seen before,” Brosnahan added.Noted Caitríona Balfe, “This film raises questions about revenge and justice.
You want somebody to answer for the terrible things they’ve done — and that’s great.“The question asked in this film: Is this the right way? Will revenge bring you solace? Heller’s journey for that discovery is interesting.”“Charlie reminded me of Elliot in a different way,” Malek allowed of Elliot Alderson, the Emmy-winning computer hacker he played in the “Mr.
Robot” (2015–2019) television series.“Charlie has this incredible wife which allowed for this brilliant love story which Rachel does so well. It’s other worldly at times.
”“Amateur” belongs to a tradition the movies have had virtually since they started. “What makes this movie very exciting is,” Malek said, “it takes you all over the world to places you haven’t visited before.“Our director James Hawes from ‘Slow Horses’ doesn’t give you the usual picture postcards.
You’re seeing more grit, from Marseilles to Istanbul to places you don’t usually photograph.”Did his stint here as a first-time producer impact his performance?“I guess it did in a number of ways. But I just love to see things from beginning to end — I hope it’s not a perfectionist aspect.
“But remembering moments on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ I would talk to directors, wanting to make sure we were getting the best of the best. I’ve heard about actors coming into the editing suite and I wanted to make sure how I could come in without being an intruder.“It was nice to work on the script and sit down, day in and day out, and make this feel as authentic as possible from beginning to end.
”“The Amateur” is in theaters FridayLaurence Fishburne as Rami Malek’s boss in “The Amateur.” (Photo by Jonathan Olley/20th Century Studios).
