Based on a John LeCarre novel, the tailor in this movie version is played by Geoffrey Rush. He’s a guy named Harry Pendel and he lives a seemingly happy little life with a wife, played by Jamie Lee Curtis and a couple of young children. His work brings him close to the inner workings of political life in Panama and for that reason he’s selected by a spy named Andy Osnard to bring Osnard information. Osnard is played by Pierce Brosnan. He’s been exiled to Panama from London for various misdeeds. But he’s told there’s all sorts of important matters to be dealt with down in Panama and he’s to get on them. One of those matters is the security of the Canal itself, so Andy sets his sights on poor Harry to bring him information. In return, Harry gets money and the promise that Andy will not reveal his secret past ,which even his wife is not aware.
At first it’s hard to get a handle on this movie. It seems like a goof, with Brosnan playing sort of the evil James Bond. He’s still a womanizer but the way he uses Harry and the nasty tone he takes towards the whole thing tell you he’s no Bond. He’s up to something and although it takes a while to get there it’s well worth the wait. It’s just that it can be a wait. After Andy and Harry first meet, I started to get bored and distracted as Andy weaves his plot. It’s tough, as it always is, to follow the British accents through this tangled web of intrigue. Especially Geoffrey Rush. He speaks in this husky whisper which was enough to drive me crazy after a while. But it’s all to emphasize his kind, gentlemanly ways. He considers himself a well-mannered expert tailor selling only the finest quality clothing to only the finest people. That comes through and by the end of the movie Rush had me sold on his need to act they way he did. His “double life” is also well portrayed as we watch him sink deeper and deeper into this mess. Of course, he digs his own grave by lying to Andy, but you do still root for him to get some of his dignity back. Jamie Lee is excellent as the logic and moral center of this story as she comes to realize there’s something weird going on between her husband and this Andy guy which goes much deeper than suits. She’s the kind of character you need in these type of movies to ask the no nonsense questions
As for Pierce Brosnan, this was a great way to take on a role that strikes back at the whole Bond stereotype. Burnt out on the whole dopey spy business, Andy renames it “information technology” and sets about using everyone and anything to set-up a nice retirement for himself. I’m not sure why, but I found myself rooting for Andy too.
You’ve got to have patience with this movie but it will come through in the end. Ordinarily I complain that too many movies use shortcuts and dumb plot holes to set up a story because they only have less than two hours to tell it, but it was worth the slow set-up to watch the story of “The Tailor of Panama” unfold. I didn’t feel that way until near the end and I’m not sure anything like this could unfold in real life, but with all the international paranoia that surrounds something like the Panama Canal, who knows? This is an unusual and well- spun tale. I give it an “8.0” on the scale.
