R E V I E W S
Tailor of Panama (2001)
Starring: Pierce
Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Gleeson Studio: Columbia Pictures Review Posted: 3.28.01 Rating: 4/10
By Stephen.
"A tailor as the subject doesn't guarantee satisfaction"
Whoever thought we'd get to see Pierce Brosnan play another type of British spy? It's not James Bond. Here, Brosnan plays Andy Osnard, a different kind of her majesty's secret service. The Tailor of Panama is a dark comedy and runs on forever. It's not an easy movie to digest, because a lot of thinking is involved (if you're me). Incidentally, I couldn't keep up with story and information given and I was lost about forty minutes into the movie. This is a shame really, as it had great potential to become something good. There's a lot of politics involved, which ultimately is not everybody's line of understanding. I'm one of those.
Interestingly enough, The Tailor of Panama takes place (and was shot) entirely in Panama. There are some really nice locales there and D.O.P. and Director John Boorman use them to their full extent. The story of the movie starts off simple enough. A british spy, Andy Osnard (Pierce Brosnan), recruits Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush), a tailor in Panama, to listen to the conversations of the Panamanian generals and politicians he clothes. It later turns out that Pendel isn't who he claims he is. The things he reports to Osnard aren't 100% true either. This creates several problems for Osnard and Pendel himself.
Most of the major characters in The Tailor of Panama are strange. For example, Osnard is not the usual type of British spy. He's arrogant, violent, and his passion (fetish?) for sex is enormous. Osnard is the NC-17 of Bond's PG-13. I didn't really like Osnard's character. Pendel has more of a quiet and easy-going persona. Brendan Gleeson's Mickie Abraxas is the type of drunk side-kick with all the inside scoops. Pendel's wife, Louisa (Jamie Lee Curtis) is really distant and basically is a waste. McCormack's political official is Osnard's love interest. Their love relationship was solely based on hardcore sex and therefore didn't work. Yet, also because it absolutely had no heat. John Boorman adapted John LeCarre's novel of the same name and while I'm sure it's not bad in terms of construction and content, the script (and eventually the movie) seemed too confusing, throwing in information by the dozen.
It's quite a shame to waste terrific actors, such as Brosnan, Rush, and Curtis on a story that goes nowhere. The start was simple, yet slow. The momentum never mounted and when new things happened I couldn't care less (and didn't understand; shame to me). Seemingly, the most amazing trait was the lack of chemistry between the actors. Aside from that, there was quite a lot of comedy. About half of the audience seemed entertained and got the jokes, but I didn't.
Overall, The Tailor of Panama should've been less confusing and have a focus point as to where the story is getting at. Since I wasn't into the jokes, because I did not understand them, and couldn't follow the storyline, there wasn't much I could like here. It's definitely not a movie for the target audience that I am.
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