Brendan Gleeson, Catherine McCormack, Catherine McCormick
Tailors are the secret-keepers of the power elite; customize fine apparel for the rich and powerful, and you'll hear things only whispered in the halls of government. Such is the sly conceit of The...( read more
), coadapted by John le Carré from his own novel, and directed by John Boorman with a delicious spin on the traditions of the spy genre. As British MI-6 agent Andy Osnard, Pierce Brosnan qualifies as James Bond's black-sheep sibling, viewing women only in terms of sexual conquest and conducting spy business by his own flexible set of rules. Banished to Panama to pay for recent indiscretions, Andy connects with Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush), a British ex-convict who's built a lucrative cover as tailor to Panama's highest officials. With the coveted Panama canal now under local control, Andy's arrived to see what Harry knows about the canal's pending multinational sale.
As Andy observes, Panama is "Casablanca without heroes," and that's precisely how Boorman depicts it: a melting pot of greed, ambition, and backroom maneuvering, where Andy can bed an embassy official (Catherine McCormack) while squeezing information from Harry, who concocts a phony "silent opposition" that puts British and American forces on full alert. Harry's wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) is pulled into the scenario by Andy's ruthless scheming, and The Tailor of Panama reveals how a simple fabrication can provoke trigger-happy forces around the globe. Part comedy and part political horror thriller--with a tragic supporting role for Brendan Gleason, from Boorman's The General--this is old-fashioned spy stuff made new by le Carré's inventive plotting and keen ear for the dialogue of rogues. --Jeff Shannon
DVD Release Date: September 11, 2001
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Stats: 321 reviews
Your Rating
Flixster Reviews (321)
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September 8, 2009A run of the mill espionage thriller, comedy? I was hoping for a bit more. Good cast but I just didn't find the story that interesting.
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April 17, 2009The film is good enough, I guess, but it just wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. Geoffrey Rush is always good and this is no exception here, but Brosnan seems too at-ease as a British agent (what a stretch there, huh?). Jamie Lee Curtis and Brendan Gleeson put in ste...( read more)
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June 17, 2007Honestly, the movie's pretty ordinary. Some people drive the point that it's a satire or dark humorist's take on the spy film, but it accomplishes nothing so clever. The only thing that deviates from the typical spy mold is the main character, played by Pierce Brosnan, in a fairl...( read more)
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November 23, 2006Not great, but Brosnan was okay--even thought all he was doing was playing a sleazier James Bond.
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August 29, 2009This was a movie I have had for a long time and fo.got all about! Its a great movie and I suggest you all should see this one~
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March 6, 2009For the talents involved it's not as good as it could be, but it was a good sleeper.
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January 22, 2009A mediocre spy thriller.A great cast,Geoffrey Rush is great,although not his best role,Brosnan is also good,after all it is a familiar role for him(a spy).Gleeson was a treat for me,he was awesome as the washout drunk.Somehow the story didn't captivate me,maybe on the second view...( read more)
Critic Reviews
April 2, 2001
David Edelstein, Slate
March 29, 2001
A.O. Scott, The New York Times
If the film's emotions are not always in balance, its clumsiness is also part of the fun. full review
March 22, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
A hypnotic film that stays resonantly humane even as Boorman skewers British and American diplomacy with martini-dry wit. full review
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