Movie review: The November Man - a forgotten November

No special agent can save The November Man from the critics.

Espionage thrillers have kept cinema audiences hooked since the advent of the art form itself. It was in 1928 when German filmmaker, Fritz Lang wrote the current thematic and visual vernacular of spy thrillers when making Spione. It contained shots of the ‘agency’ headquarters, a female agent and/or a femme fatal who falls in love with the hero (or is a very formidable match) and the agent known as a number. While the structure was written a long time ago, it is the presentation of this structure that makes fans out of mere filmgoers. But The November Man leaves one scratching their head because the movie fails at structure, presentation and logic.

Pierce Brosnan stars as Peter Devereaux, a disenchanted ex-CIA agent who is assigned by his former boss, John Hanley, to extract a under cover CIA agent, Natalia Ulanova, who can bring down a Russian war criminal, Arkady Fedorov, campaigning for the country’s presidency. In the mix is a Chechen refugee whose family was killed by Federov and can bring down the house of cards built by Federov and the CIA. Alongside the main cast are Olga Kurylenko and Luke Bracey as Mila Filapova/Alice Fournier and David Mason respectively. Alice Fournier has assimilated into Montenegrin society and is a shadow of her past life. Mason is the protégé of Deveraux and the reason why he exited the agency when the latter’s impetuousness resulted in the death of a young child early in the film.

The movie is fast-paced and the action sequences are believable, but not exciting. There is Machiavellian politics at play on a global stage and a gorgeous actress who can hold her own. Yet the movie falters and missteps on multiple levels. The script and story-beats seem rushed, resulting in a lack of empathy for the characters. Kurylenko’s character is reduced to a damsel in distress and not given the opportunity to show off her skills. Brosnan provides a few pithy remarks but their intensity seems underwhelming because his characters are just not relatable enough. Not even Pierce Brosnan can attenuate this scripted material. Luke Bracey’s expositional lines make you wonder if the casting choice was to blame. He and Brosnan share some meaningful father-son moments, but the most you can do is sympathise. Not empathise.

There are no bad movies. Just movies made without forethought. It is disheartening to watch an accomplished cast and director, Roger Donaldson, wade through a movie mired in these many unforgivably trite mistakes. I waited till the end for someone to redeem themselves but no one did, least of all the screenwriters. The project was almost cancelled in 2007 but later revived in 2012 by Brosnan and his producing partner for principal photography to begin in 2013. This rush in execution is evident when you watch the movie and ultimately makes it a forgettable experience. I left the theatre scratching my head knowing that I had neither learnt anything new nor felt any different.

Rating: 1.5/5 

Vivian J Xavier is a cinematographer. He tweets@vivianjxavier 

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 21^st, 2014.