Post by George Willson on Oct 29, 2005 14:52:01 GMT -5
KIM rating: 9.6.8
Andy Osnard is an MI-6 agent (MI-6 is the British Secret Service made famous by James Bond), played I'm sure not coincidentally by Pierce Brosnan, who got into trouble by blowing his cover and having an affair with a minister's wife. As a result he is sent to Panama to check around and see if anything is going on with the canal. There, he finds a tailor named Pendel who not only makes fine suits but spins elaborate yarns.
His stories intrigue Osnard, who could care less about national security and is more interested in finding himself a large retirement nest egg. He takes Pendel's stories (which I think he knows are bogus) and runs with them with further embellishments and turns it into the secret service. This causes a chain reaction of events up to the potential invasion of Panama by the United States.
I think the movie, though crass and vulgar for no real reason, was well conceived and well written with a clever storyline of the tailor who lives within his web of stories. He hasn't even told his wife the truth about his past -- another thing, beyond a severe need for money, that Osnard holds over his head. The main characters are well rounded and their motives are understandable. Even though Osnard is a clear cut scoundral, he still has a need either for redemption and barring that, he'll take what he can get and get out.
The primary weakness has to do with the backstory of why Osnard is in Panama, something I never fully understood. He wasn't sent there to be out of the way; it's like he had a reason, but I never got it.
Beyond this, though, good film.
Andy Osnard is an MI-6 agent (MI-6 is the British Secret Service made famous by James Bond), played I'm sure not coincidentally by Pierce Brosnan, who got into trouble by blowing his cover and having an affair with a minister's wife. As a result he is sent to Panama to check around and see if anything is going on with the canal. There, he finds a tailor named Pendel who not only makes fine suits but spins elaborate yarns.
His stories intrigue Osnard, who could care less about national security and is more interested in finding himself a large retirement nest egg. He takes Pendel's stories (which I think he knows are bogus) and runs with them with further embellishments and turns it into the secret service. This causes a chain reaction of events up to the potential invasion of Panama by the United States.
I think the movie, though crass and vulgar for no real reason, was well conceived and well written with a clever storyline of the tailor who lives within his web of stories. He hasn't even told his wife the truth about his past -- another thing, beyond a severe need for money, that Osnard holds over his head. The main characters are well rounded and their motives are understandable. Even though Osnard is a clear cut scoundral, he still has a need either for redemption and barring that, he'll take what he can get and get out.
The primary weakness has to do with the backstory of why Osnard is in Panama, something I never fully understood. He wasn't sent there to be out of the way; it's like he had a reason, but I never got it.
Beyond this, though, good film.