There is a common trope in fiction, and while I can enjoy the story that uses it, its use does cast a pall on any story for me. Stuffed in the Fridge, so named for an infamous issue of Green Lantern, is common enough that it can be inescapable, and it is rarely done well. In the modern day of storytelling, few pieces of media hide the fact when they’re going to do it. The Amateur is one of those films whose marketing did not reveal this piece of information to its prospective audience.
Based on The Amateur by Robert Littell, this is a slow-burning, revenge thriller with elements of conspiracy woven in. It’s the kind of film that audiences enjoy watching, because revenge is that elusive ideal that many people dream about but would never actually go for. Films like John Wick, Die Hard, and The Last House of the Left, despite crossing genre barriers, are effective because it is generally enjoyable to see somebody who was wronged get some of their own back. Often in a manner that we would not take for obvious reasons. Most of us are prone to petty revenge that leaves no body count in our wake.
The Amateur focuses on a CIA cryptographer, Charlie Heller (Rami Malek), who lacks the standard kinetic skills of CIA officers, more in line with what the CIA actually does. A person who collects intelligence for their place of work, while others execute assignments based on said information. Generally, those ‘others’ are the United States Government. Charlie does his job and comes home to his life on a farm, where he shares a house with his wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), whose work often brings her to London. It is during this trip that Sarah’s compassion results in her being taken hostage instead of somebody else, and ultimately killed in a terrorist attack. Her death sets Charlie on a path for change…
Even with a two-hour runtime, when a story executes such a notorious trope, it has to come early enough for the actual story to unfold. This means that the story cannot waste much time on the exact essence of the character who will be fridged. Much of what we learn about Sarah comes secondhand, while her onscreen presence lands based solely on Brosnahan’s inherent skill as an actor. Still, it is hard to feel anything for a character who has, generously, two minutes of screen time, but whose absence impacts the other 118. No amount of sad music or quiet discussion about Sarah’s attributes can make up for that, regardless of the actress. Her role, as is standard in fridging, exists entirely to motivate Charlie into developing as a character.
Is it lazy writing if no other avenue can be thought of to draw out such a change? I honestly cannot say one way or the other. Primarily because, in my own writing, I don’t use that tactic, but secondarily because it is inherently true that the death of a loved one does generate an immense, sudden change in a person. In that vein, countless films, television shows, and books. Countless characters die throughout a storyline. Despite the controversiality of her death in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, it is impossible to claim that Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) lacked character or agency. Within NCIS, Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander) was such a force that the show faked out audiences with her death multiple times before finally going through with it; however, by then, she had become a stable presence and a well-known figure. In the case of Sasha Alexander’s character, in a show where death is a given for the characters’ line of work, several other main characters died. The shock value persists, but it is hard to beat the first.
With Sarah’s death, the CIA does not expect Charlie to focus on work immediately. Still, Charlie needs answers that he feels his bosses aren’t giving him. Between the opening of the movie and the discovery of Sarah’s death, we are given a glimpse into Charlie’s routine and his relationships, including the fact that he often helps a field agent, Jackson O’Brien (Jon Bernthal), codenamed “The Bear.” He has also established a long-term anonymous source, Inquiline, who has passed on classified files that have helped the CIA before. Inquiline’s latest tranche, once decrypted, reveals that Alex Moore (Holt McCallany), Charlie’s boss and the Director of the Special Activities Center, has disguised politically-motivated drone strikes as suicide bombings. This information is what Charlie uses to gain the skills and training he believes that he needs to hunt down the people responsible for Sarah’s murder.
The Amateur was not shy about casting big-name actors to fill out its supporting cast. While Rami Malek is on the rise, Laurence Fishburne is an actor whose name has been a draw in Hollywood for years. Fishburne plays Robert “Hendo” Henderson, the man tasked with giving Charlie his training. However, the CIA is only entertaining this until they can find the blackmail material he has on them. It is through this portion of the film that we learn how hopeless Charlie is in physical combat, but he excels in tactics and strategy, which allows him to utilize his actual skill set to outmaneuver his enemies.
Additionally, the anonymous source Inquiline is played by Caitríona Balfe, best known for her leading role in Outlander.
She plays a major supporting role at the midpoint of the film and, thankfully, does not become a romantic interest. Instead, the pair bonds over their shared grief from the loss of the ones they loved.
The primary antagonists are a quartet who have an entire criminal network beneath them, and ostensibly, the CIA is looking to eliminate the whole operation. Led by Horst Schiller (Michael Stuhlbarg), the man who actually pulled the trigger, a man who openly acknowledges that Sarah’s death was mere collateral damage to the broader escape plan. Horst and Charlie are presented as opposing forces, but ultimately, Horst is revealed to be a villain who attempts to justify his crimes by counteracting them with Charlie’s revenge. A common tactic in the villain playbook. Horst’s minions who participated in the London attack are Gretchen Frank (Barbara Probst), Mishka Blazhic (Marc Rissmann), and Ellish (Joseph Millson). They are Charlie’s primary targets, and while he struggles in his mission, he does not relent.
The rest of the cast is rounded out by actors who fill out the CIA’s world – such as Samantha O’Brien (Julianne Nicholson), the newly appointed Director of the CIA. Caleb Horowitz (Danny Sapani) one of Charlie’s supervisors who is allied with Moore, while Carlos (Adrian Martinez) is one of Charlie’s coworkers in the office. Compared to Bernthal, who admittedly plays a minor supporting role, their presence grounds the story and fills out the cast.
The Amateur was an interesting adaptation. While I, personally, have always taken issue with the trope that sets the story in motion, I have always been able to acknowledge that if it weren’t effective (overall), then it would no longer be in use. Perhaps, in time, writers will find another method to motivate a character who is not prone to murder into a murder spree. We shall see.
Lloydd Marshall Books 