Product: Tailor of Panama [VHS] (2001)
Rating: 4.0
Bond and Helfgott, together at last
I never read the novel by John LeCarre (or any LeCarre as of this writing), so I was able to go into this fresh. I was rather impressed. Pierce Brosnan plays against type as a villainous spy who enlists Geoffrey Rush to lie for him in order to--well, I don't really know why. The movie got so complicated and the lies came so fast, that I didn't realize it was out of hand until the FBI showed up.But, anyway, the ride is worth it, with excellent acting all around, including a cameo by writer Harold Pinter as Rush's old partner in tailoring with a secret. Rush is excellent as the titular tailor who is hiding something, and Jamie Lee Curtis is always good for a solid performance, and she does her best with the small role she plays here. But Brosnan is the surprise here, with a role that shows his range does not stop with James Bond (or Remington Steele, for that matter).Not a classic, but good for a fun time-filler.