John le Carré on Philip Seymour Hoffman in A MOST WANTED MAN

This Friday sees the opening of director A MOST WANTED MAN starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in his final role.

Directed by Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn (Control, The American), the film is based on on the best-selling 2008 novel of the same name by John le Carré.

The author wrote a story on the Oscar winning actor for the NY Times which you can read HERE.

“He seemed to kiss his lines rather than speak them. Then gradually he did what only the greatest actors can do. He made his voice the only authentic one, the lonely one, the odd one out, the one you depended on amid all the others. And every time it left the stage, like the great man himself, you waited for its return with impatience and mounting unease.”

“We shall wait a long time for another Philip.”

During the film’s production, Le Carré himself visited the set several times, lending his backing and encouragement to the process. As a seasoned observer of the journey from page to screen, le Carré holds the belief that his novels need to evolve to make that transformation successfully. For that to happen, he is always happy to take a step back.

Says producer Stephen Cornwell, “What’s interesting about the adaptation is that it is quite distinct from the novel. There is a whole aspect to the novel that isn’t in the movie. It finds its own language and its own way of telling the story. But at the same time it is incredibly true to the intent of the story. It’s exactly what a really good adaptation should be. It takes a novel, respects its intent but it becomes something of its own.”

Watch this featurette on A MOST WANTED MAN. (The Playlist/Indiewire)

The movie was Corbijn’s and Hoffman’s introduction to le Carré’s novels.

“This is a human and humane story about governments and spy organisations which is usually told in a flashier, romantic style,” Hoffman observed. “There’s nothing romantic about this. The book is in there for which I’m glad, as the book is amazing.”

When a half-Chechen, half-Russian, brutally tortured immigrant turns up in Hamburg’s Islamic community, laying claim to his father’s ill-gotten fortune, both German and US security agencies take a close interest: as the clock ticks down and the stakes rise, the race is on to establish this most wanted man’s true identity – oppressed victim or destruction-bent extremist?

Based on John le Carré’s novel, A MOST WANTED MAN is a contemporary, cerebral tale of intrigue, love, rivalry, and politics that prickles with tension right through to its last heart-stopping scene.

Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe and Robin Wright, Roadside Attractions will release A MOST WANTED MAN on July 25.

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