May 29, 2001 -- "The Tailor of Panama" reminds me of another movie about an existentialist, nightmare world, "The Trial." This film, like that one, takes place in a nightmare reality which does not stand up under close scrutiny. It is also similar, in that the central character is caught in a hopeless trap. "The Tailor of Panama," based on a novel by John Le Carré, is more of a dark comedy than "The Trial," however.

There is another connection between the two films. Award-winning playwright Harold Pinter, who once wrote an screenplay adaptation of "The Trial" (from the novel by Franz Kafka) appears as the dream-character Uncle Benny in "The Tailor of Panama." Uncle Benny appears as an apparition to Harry Pendel (played by Geoffrey Rush of "Quills") at key moments. Pendel is caught in a bind of his own doing while dealing with British spy Andy Osnard (played by Pierce Brosnan of the latest James Bond films). This British spy is no James Bond, however, he is an amoral opportunist.

Pendel has a penchant for telling tall tales, real whoppers. Osnard cleverly finds a way to use these creative lies to his advantage. Bribing Pendel with money, he lures him deep into a dangerous scheme that can politically destabilize central America, and net Osnard a fortune. Pendel feeds these Pendel whoppers to his superiors, who in turn tell the Americans. The lies are cleverly designed to tell both parties exactly what they want to hear. This sets into motion a series of frightening events. I won't go into details, except to say the whole scheme is preposterous. It works only in the special nightmare-like setting of this type of story.

Oscar-winner Rush gives another fine performance here as the thoroughly mixed-up and used Pendel. Brosnan is great as the nasty, manipulative spy, using his wits, charm and sex appeal to outmaneuver everyone around him. Jaime Lee Curtis is good as Pendel's level-headed, faithful wife. Brendan Gleeson of "Mission Impossible 2" gives an excellent performance as an alcoholic, washed-up revolutionary, Mickie Abraxas. Veteran director John Boorman ("The General") does a good job of breathlessly pacing the film so that you don't really have time to consider the gaping plot holes. It is clever, well-written and well-acted. This film rates a B.

For those of you who haven't seen the film and don't want to know how it ends, avoid the rest of this paragraph. I saw this film at a large theater in Calgary, Alberta, while I was on vacation. Near the end of the film, some people walked out, saying loudly that it was a "shitty" film. It was one of the few examples of rude behavior I saw in Alberta, one of the last bastions of civility. I can understand the comment, however. After the suicide death of Mickie Abraxas, a likeable character, and the near ruin of nice guy Pendel and the eventual triumph of Osnard, a very nasty character, this movie is very dark. It starts like a comedy, but it doesn't end that way. This tends to leave a bad taste in some people's mouths. The ending is more like sorrow and pity. I thought the story was moving toward a double-cross and outwitting of the ruthless Osnard, a turn I would have enjoyed, but it was not to be. There are any number of different endings that would have been more satisfying. In fact, any sort of joy there was in the story had long since withered away by the end of it. The story, not that believable as a political farce, makes more sense when viewed in the context of an existential nightmare, albeit a darkly comic one. This dreary philosophy, which grew out of the early years of the 20th Century, made much of the hopelessness of the human condition. Existentialism is a somewhat dated philosophy and its suitability as the basis for a compelling dramatic or comic theatrical theme is an open question. I do not find existential arguments compelling. If I did, I probably would have the found the movie more compelling.

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