Product: Tailor of Panama [VHS] (2001)
Rating: 3.0
Not great, but still better than most studio fare
The Tailor of Panama is not a Boorman film on the same level as Deliverance, Point Blank or the more recent The General, but it is far superior to most studio fare. The film has much to recommend it even if LeCarre's labyrinthian plotting is played here for comic effect. Philippe Rousselot's cinematography brings the exotic seediness of Panama to vivid life. Brosnan and Rush play off each other brilliantly (there is a strange homoerotic frisson to their relationship). The smaller parts filled in by John Fortune and Harold Pinter add to the charm of this meta-spy story. Boorman is one of the old breed of 60s/70s directors, whose ambitions have been stifled by the sheer awfulness of American studio decision making of the last decade. It is nice to see him working even if one senses his wilder impulses are being held in check. The transfer is excellent and Boorman is as articulate as always on the commentary track.