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Summary: Pierce Brosnan stars as Andy Osnard, a British spy
(a role that he shouldn't be terribly unfamiliar with) who is re-assigned to
Panama to gather intelligence about Panama's plans for the Panama
Canal. Being extremely resourceful, Andy recruits a tailor of fine
men's clothing, played by Geoffrey Rush, who exploits his connection with
his clients to spy on behalf of Osnard. Though this is a spy
movie, it is very much different from the other British spy movie franchise
that Brosnan is involved with. "The Tailor of Panama" is
really more of a drama about the informant, his family and
friends. There are few action scenes or chase sequences that make
typical spy movies interesting.
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The Story
Having crossed the agency, a fallen spy, Andy Osnard (Pierce Brosnan),
is re-assigned to Panama to gather intelligence about the country's plans for
the Panama Canal. Being extremely resourceful, Andy recruits a
seemingly unlikely informant, Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush), a tailor of
fine men's clothing, a loving father, and a devoted husband. Ah, but
Harry has a hidden past which Andy threatens to exploit in order to gain the
upper hand. Harry also has a clientele who is the political "who's who in
Panama", and a lovely wife (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) who
coincidentally works for the man who is in charge of the
day-to-day operations of the Panama
Canal. In return, Harry gets monetary assistance to ease his cash flow
problems. Harry and Andy together spin an international intelligence
web that demands international attention and action.
Though this is a spy film, it is very much different from
the other British spy movie franchise of which Brosnan has been a
part. Not only is the Andy character a lot more crass than the mellow
and easy-going James Bond character (there, I said it!), there are far fewer
action sequences and chase scenes. In fact, "The Tailor of
Panama" is really in-depth character studies of the tailor's clientele,
friends, and family. Director Boorman has a unique story-telling perspective that
needs some getting used to. Having said that, if you don't expect a
lot of action and are interested in a spy-drama, then this movie may have
your name on it.
The Extras
"The Tailor of Panama" Special Edition DVD contains the following set of bonus
material:
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Audio commentary by director John Boorman
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The Perfect Fit: a conversation with Pierce Brosnan
and Geoffrey Rush. Brosnan and Rush discussed the screenplay
versus the book, their experience in Panama with the locals, and their
respective roles in this movie versus their Brosnan as James Bond and
Rush as the Marquis de Sade in "Quills".
This interview gives an inside look into the process of filming and
paints some background into the main characters of the movie. I
wish Columbia Pictures has added the deleted scenes which Brosnan
referenced during this segment. This segment will enhance your
appreciation for the movie. (23 minutes)
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Alternate ending. Andy Osnard gets what he
deserves! But the director has a good point to cut it out.
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Filmographies for cast and crew: director John Boorman,
Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Gleeson, and
Catherine McCormack
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Theatrical trailers for "The Tailor of Panama"
and "Les Miserables" in which Geoffrey Rush is the supporting
actor.
As a Special Edition, the bonus feature contents of
this DVD was barely satisfactory. I wish there was a segment for deleted
scenes and a separate music segment.
Video & Audio
The image quality of this anamorphic
widescreen DVD is generally good. In the first scene with Andy receiving his
re-assignment to Panama, the picture quality seems overly soft. The colors are accurate and
saturated, while shadow detail is good. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 soundtrack is well balanced, though the surround sound
channels are not aggressively used. There were several Latin music
tracks which sounds very catchy.
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Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony
DVP-S7700 reference DVD player, Sony
KP-61V45 61" rear projection TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony ES STR-V444ES A/V receiver, four
B&W CDM 9NTs as left/right main speakers
and left/right surrounds, B&W CDM CNT center channel speaker, Monster Cable M-series S-Video cable MSV-500, Monster
Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable
Interlink 400 MKII interconnects, Monster Cable
Original speaker cables in bi-wire configuration with Monster Cable twist-on gold-plated banana plug
connectors, Lovan Sovereign T HiFi audio
rack, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones. Our home theater equipment was calibrated
with the Video
Essentials DVD.
Be sure to check out our Top 10 DVDs of the year
2001 and our list of this year's Oscar winners on DVD.
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United We Stand
