Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death was a tragedy for his family and friends, but it was also a tragedy for cinema, who lost one of its finest and most varied actors. While his final performance will be his appearances in The Hunger Games finale films, Hoffman’s last leading role was in A Most Wanted Man.
The first trailer for the spy thriller has hit the web today and it showcases the actor in his pivotal part as the head of an anti-terrorist team. For those who don’t know, A Most Wanted Man is based on the book by John Le Carre and centers on a Hamburg-based terrorist cell and its involvement in the 9/11 attacks. At the head of the anti-terrorist team is Gunter Bachmann (Hoffman), who sends his people out in search of sources within the Islamic community that will lead them, hopefully, to center of the cell.
They focus on a recently arrived immigrant Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), who takes refuge with a Muslim woman and seeks help from human rights lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams). Karpov is of interest both to Bachmann and to Mohr (Rainer Bock), the head of Hamburg intelligence who wants Karpov arrested before he can make contact with Islamic terrorist cells. Bachmann wants to wait and see if Karpov can lead them deeper into the cell, putting him at odds with Bock.
The recent trailer for the film focuses mostly on Hoffman and the basic plot, but also gives needed time to McAdams, Willem Dafoe (as a dodgy banker), and Bock. In general, A Most Wanted Man looks as convoluted as we might expect from Le Carre (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), with no clear heroes or villains, and plenty of subterfuge. Director Anton Corbijn (The American) is capable of making thoughtful, complicated spy thrillers, so I would certainly keep an eye out for this one.
A Most Wanted Man will finally come to theatres on July 25. You can watch the trailer below.