The Tailor Of Panama (2001)
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Synopsis
Troublesome and manipulative MI6 agent, Andy Osnard, is banished
to Panama. Looking for a big catch to win favour at home,
Osnard manipulates the tailor Harry Pendel, convincing
him to dig up dirt on the Panamanian administration.
Short of cash and with secrets of his own to preserve,
Pendel agrees - embarking on a steep trail of dishonesty
and deception.
Vital Statistics
Studio: Sony / Columbia
Runnng Time: 109 minutes
Budget: $21 million
Box-Office (Domestic): $13.73m
Box-Office (Foreign): $14.28m
Production
Directed by: John Boorman
Produced by: John Boorman, John le Carré, Kevan Baker
Written by: John le Carré, Andrew Davies, John Boorman
Music by: Shaun Davey
 Buy
DVD (Amazon USA)
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"And do we dress right or left,
sir? Most of my gentlemen favour left these days, don't think
it's political." - Harry Pendel
Cast & Characters
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Andy Osnard
Pierce Brosnan |
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Harry Pendel
Geoffrey Rush |
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Louisa Pendel
Jamie Lee Curtis |
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Mickie Abraxas
Brendan Gleeson |
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Mata
Leonor Varela |
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Francesca Deane
Catherine McCormack |
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Mark Pendel
Daniel Radcliffe |
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Sarah Pendel
Lola Boorman |
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Uncle Benny
Harold Pinter |
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Locations
London, UK; Panama Canal, Panama; Panama City, Panama.
Trivia
The screenplay was co-written by John le Carré, the only
adaptation of his work that the author had an active role in
drafting. The
film is set in the early 2000s, after the Panama canal had been
returned to the Panamanian government, whereas the novel is set
in the mid-1990s when the tension was higher.
Title
The title refers to Geoffrey Rush's character, a crooked but
proud British tailor, barely making a living suiting rich dictators,
crooks and spies in the volatile city of Panama. |
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The Bond Connection
Pierce Brosnan,
having made three Bond films [GoldenEye, Tomorrow
Never Dies, The World Is Not
Enough], continued in the spy genre as another MI6 agent.
This time however, he is not the suave and adorable secret agent:
Andy
Osnard is
a slimy and self-motivated protagonist, posted to Panama by his
MI6 chiefs as a punishment for a faux pas with an ambassador's
mistress.
In another nod to the Bond series, the tailor (Pendel)
claims to have suited Sir
Sean Connery and proudly displays a picture of the Scots
007 actor in his office. "The Tailor of Panama" is
a far cry from the jet-set world of James Bond but Brosnan's
role in the production is an inescapable echo of the darker side
of international espionage.
Above: Lola Boorman and Daniel Radcliffe as the Pendel children, Sarah and Mark... |
Production Notes
Experienced British film director John Boorman pulls together an expert cast
and executes the twisted and seething John le Carré novel with grace.
The production brought Brosnan to a new light as he had only recently had
he found global fame and success as James Bond in three
007 outings.
This role was a daring and different one for
Brosnan. Adapt at playing charming and mysterious characters,
Andy Osnard was a twist in a different
direction
and
perhaps
a risky choice for a current James Bond to be playing a ruthless
and moral-lacking rogue agent.
Geoffrey Rush's career in film included
a run of successful period pieces including: "Elizabeth", "Shakespeare
in Love" and the bard's own "Twelfth Night". His
mild-mannered and self-conscious tailor in this picture provided
a contrast to some of his previously flamboyant, larger-than-life
roles. The cast is backed up by the experienced Jamie Lee Curtis,
would-be 'Potter' star Daniel Radcliffe as a big-screen newcomer
as well as a rare on-screen appearance from famed play-write
Harold Pinter.
Above: When Harry fails to deliver on his promise the shifty spy seduces Pendel's wife, Lousia... |
Boorman shot primarily on location in Panama,
a nation that was still struggling with civil unrest at the
turn of the millennium and was a haven for shady business deals.
The energy and feel of the film benefits from the extensive location
work - adding to the realism of le
Carré's setting. Interior work was conducted at Ardmore
Studios in Wicklow, Ireland - a prominent film studio since the
1960s and home to productions such as "The Spy Who Came In
From The Cold", "The Lion in Winter" and Brosnan's
own "Laws of Attraction".
Above: Pierce Brosnan and Jamie Lee Curtis on location for "The Tailor of Panama"... |
The film premiered on 11th February 2001 at the Berlin International Film Festival and was the recipient of many positive reviews with Washington Post staffer saying, "What a treat of a cad [Brosnan] is here, roguishly seducing women for the sheer hell of it. Clearly he was cast to turn his James Bond persona on its suave ear."
"The Tailor of Panama" had to face
off against some steep competition at the box office that year:
most notably "Enemy at the Gates", "Blow", "Swordfish" and "Along
Came A Spider". Despite an all-star cast and a strong backing
from some top cinema reviewers, this production failed to make
a big box office impact, scraping just $13.7 million domestically
when it opened in the US in March 2001. Its worldwide haul just
exceeded the production budget.
Capsule Reviews
"Strong as Brosnan is, Rush is more impressive for the ways he can make us sympathize with someone who is doing dreadful things. Immaculate and at his well-tailored ease in Tom Wolfe-ish three-piece ice cream suits, Rush's Pendel does his best work as he gets increasingly helpless, as he gradually comes to realize that mere duplicity is hardly a match for complete amorality." - LA Times
"This round-robin of cynicism and deception takes place against a city of nightclubs and B-girl bars, residential areas and city streets lined with "laundromats" (banks), embassies and the cozy confines of Pendel's shop. Boorman and le Carre (his executive producer) were wise to shoot the exteriors on location in Panama, where the tropical look makes the overheated schemes seem right at home." - Chicago Sun-Times
"The film is quite caustic in its attitude toward the British and American foreign policy makers, who, it suggests, are inherently suspicious that a small country like Panama can handle the responsibility of the vital canal, and don't need much pushing to decide to claim the waterway back." - Variety
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