A Most Missed Actor - Philip Seymour Hoffman's Last Movie

When Philip Seymour Hoffman died on February 2nd, he left behind a legacy full of classic screen characters.  Unknown at the time was that his final completed movie would reveal one of the most quintessential portrayals of his career.  In "A Most Wanted Man" (in theaters now), the late Mr. Hoffman plays Gunther Bachmann, a thoughtful, drinking, chain-smoking, shadowy German.  It's a brilliant performance, in an excellent spy-thriller that is one of the Summer's best movies.

The story takes place in Hamburg, Germany, where the post-9/11 landscape has made every Muslim a suspect in the global war on terror.  Herr Bachmann has his sights set on wealthy Islamic fundraiser Dr. Abdullah, but he quickly targets a new suspect - Issa Karpov - the movie's most wanted man.  Issa Karpov is a half-Chechen, half-Russian Muslim, who arrives in Hamburg with no ID, except an authentic letter claiming inheritance to several million Euro.

As the German and American anti-terrorists get ready to pounce, Gunther Bachmann has the delicate task of convincing them (including a creepy Robin Wright) to wait and see where this leads. . . hopefully to the war's proverbial Big Fish.  The story maintains suspense, as you never know who the real villains are - if any.  Issa Karpov enlists a passionate lawyer played by Rachel McAdams to help get established, and then needs to convince Willem Dafoe's banker that Karpov's inheritance is legitimate.

All the while, Philip Seymour Hoffman holds things together.  "We should take care of all of us," he says, knowing what an espionage life can do.  He's a man with a past, that he wears physically.  Such a great skill of Mr. Hoffman's - the weight of the world seeming to take over his whole body.  He's subtle when he needs to be, and explosive at just the right moments.  When he introduces a coworker, he says, "She sails and spies.  Me?  I don't sail."  It's a brilliant, telling moment that few other actors could have phrased so well. 

Director Anton Corbijn's famous "Joshua Tree" photo

"A Most Wanted Man" is based on the book by John Le Carré, and the story shows the trained eye of a gifted storyteller with a talent for secrets and lies.  Director Anton Corbijn brings a cool, detached vision to the picture, which perfectly fits this grey new world.  As a legendary photographer, Corbijn's compositions are stunning, and this film is full of amazing images.  Here, Corbijn the filmmaker steps up brilliantly as the pacing is taut and exciting.  The ending is pure cinematic beauty - one of the best climaxes in recent memory.  And not just the perfect and inevitable way to end the movie; it's the most poetic end to a glorious film acting career.  RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman.