The Tailor of Panama (2001)

77% of critics liked it
(112 reviews)
43% of users liked it
(11,615 ratings)

Set amidst the controversy of the handover of the Panama Canal from America to Panama in late 1999, this espionage thriller follows seductive British spy Andrew Osnard (Pierce Brosnan), who has found himself recently banished to Panama. When Osnard stumbles into a tailor shop, he meets Harry Pendel… More Set amidst the controversy of the handover of the Panama Canal from America to Panama in late 1999, this espionage thriller follows seductive British spy Andrew Osnard (Pierce Brosnan), who has found himself recently banished to Panama. When Osnard stumbles into a tailor shop, he meets Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush), a garrulous sort with an unmatched penchant for "fluence" -- that is, fabricating wild tales with real-life details. Osnard threatens to expose his shady past, until Pendel agrees to provide him with information about the political situation in Panama. Pendel's wife Louisa (Jamie Lee Curtis) tries to remain unscathed by her husband's constant follies, which escalate and put him in the midst of international discord, while also threatening the shaky relationship between himself and Osnard, who cannot escape each other's grasp. Based on John le Carré's popular 1996 novel, the film also features Catherine McCormack, David Hayman, and young Daniel Radcliffe, who completed this film before his starring role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, released later in the year. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 49 min.
Directed By: John Boorman
Written By: Andrew Davies, John Boorman
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy

In Theaters: Mar 30, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Sep 11, 2001
Studio: Columbia Pictures

Critic Reviews

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
If you think the spy-thriller genre has been streamlined and spoofed and subverted until nothing new can be done to it, think again.
Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic
Seems diligently assembled.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
Elegant, sophisticated and very funny in a sly, subtle, wordy way.
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle
A literate and entertaining comic thriller.
Susan Stark, Detroit News
A wise, vivid, thoughtfully textured film.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
[Boorman] manages to strike exactly the right tone, which is somewhere between irony and amused incredulity.
Ellen MacKay, Common Sense Media
Not a great movie -- for adults only.
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Director John Boorman (The Emerald Forest) has given us another fantasy-shattering glimpse into a world that's so far apart from our own.
Harry Guerin, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
Funny, frisky and always on the right side of plausible. Mission accomplished.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
I had forgotten that thrillers could possibly be this much fun and rippingly intelligent at the same time.
Rob Vaux, Flipside Movie Emporium
It doesn't feel like a normal espionage thriller; it feels much, much better.
Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly
A broad, ribald circus flagrantly in love with the English language, The Tailor bustles with swaggering, jubilant showmanship.

Read all 12 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

I really don't think this does John le Carre's novel any justice at all but who would have thought John Boorman would have messed it up!? Geoffrey Rush is very good as always but apart from Harold Pinter in an inspired bit of casting, it is a bad day in the office for… More
I really don't think this does John le Carre's novel any justice at all but who would have thought John Boorman would have messed it up!? Geoffrey Rush is very good as always but apart from Harold Pinter in an inspired bit of casting, it is a bad day in the office for everyone concerned. A really interesting story but a completely forgettable film. Nice to see Mrs Curtis's breasts again though! ;o)
Randy T

An intriguing tale of espionage and coercion in Central America. *Geoffrey Rush never ceases to amaze me and his performance here is no exception.
Dean !

A 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.
Derek D

The 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… More
The 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 stellar performances.
Ken S

Amazing soundtrack
Drew S

Honestly, 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,… More
Honestly, 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 fairly atypical way. The performances given are strong, and many of the characters have texture, but they feel squandered amidst a plot that is very unimportant. The dialogue and writing have a lot of charm, but they do little to construct a plot or a sense of tension, which is what The Tailor of Panama is sorely missing. This low-budget spy flick is a noble experiment with admirable ambitions, but it missed the mark.
Michael G

Not great, but Brosnan was okay--even thought all he was doing was playing a sleazier James Bond.
Steven V

The Tailor of Panama is bad movie. Geoffrey Rush doesn't seem to fit in the mild-mannered shoes of a Le Carre protagonist. The story is uncompelling. People mill about, having conversations, and generally just act very British and very… More
The Tailor of Panama is bad movie. Geoffrey Rush doesn't seem to fit in the mild-mannered shoes of a Le Carre protagonist. The story is uncompelling. People mill about, having conversations, and generally just act very British and very espionage, but none of the characters is interesting enough to hold the story together. The movie also suffers from having a weak ending, where things start happening without making any sense at all.
William G

Underwhelming spy game helped by Rush, Gleeson, and (least of all) Brosnan.
Stephen E

I haven't read a John le Carre nor do I need to in order to know how boring they are. "The Tailor of Panama" is as talkative as last year's "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", but has a much quicker pace and more in terms of action. Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey… More
I haven't read a John le Carre nor do I need to in order to know how boring they are. "The Tailor of Panama" is as talkative as last year's "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", but has a much quicker pace and more in terms of action. Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush play well off of each other, and overall, it's an entertaining film. Plus, the cinematography is marvelous.
Marcus W

The story of a man who tells a lie that grows and grows, and it's perfectly okay. Rush is the star while Brosnan plays a secret agent who sleeps around (insert your own joke). The pacing is great so it moves along nicely, but it's so flawlessly average that you'll have… More
The story of a man who tells a lie that grows and grows, and it's perfectly okay. Rush is the star while Brosnan plays a secret agent who sleeps around (insert your own joke). The pacing is great so it moves along nicely, but it's so flawlessly average that you'll have forgotten it the next day.