The Amateur is a 2025 American vigilante spy action film directed by James Hawes and written by Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli. It is based on the 1981 novel of the same name by Robert Littell, which was previously adapted into a 1981 Canadian film. It stars Rami Malek (who also produced), Rachel Brosnahan, Caitríona Balfe, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, and Laurence Fishburne.
The film was released in the United States by 20th Century Studios on April 11, 2025. It received mixed reviews from critics.
CIA cryptographer Charlie Heller is restoring an old Cessna as a present from his wife, Sarah, who leaves for a business trip in London. At the CIA's Decryption and Analysis division, Charlie has befriended a field agent, code name "The Bear", and an anonymous source, code name "Inquiline". Classified files from Inquiline reveal Special Activities Center Director and Charlie's boss, Alex Moore, disguised politically-motivated drone strikes as suicide bombings. Charlie is subsequently brought to CIA Director Samantha O'Brien, who informs him that Sarah has been killed in a terrorist attack.
A grieving Charlie soon presents his own findings. After an arms deal gone wrong, the four assailants took Sarah and others hostage, killing her before escaping. Charlie identifies the suspects – Belarusian criminal Mishka Blazhic, South African ex-special forces operative Ellish, former Armenian intelligence officer Gretchen Frank, and elusive mastermind Horst Schiller, Sarah's killer – but Moore and his deputy, Caleb Horowitz, insist they are working to take down Schiller's entire network. Determined to avenge Sarah, Charlie confronts Moore with his incriminating orders, which caused hundreds of civilian and allied casualties. Threatening to leak the information, Charlie demands the resources and mission specific training at "The Farm" to personally hunt down the four assailants.
Sent to train with Col. Robert Henderson at Camp Peary, the gun-shy Charlie excels at bomb-making, but Henderson declares he is simply not capable of killing. Searching Charlie's home and office, Moore and Caleb discover a CD he hid in a bar's jukebox, but realize he was bluffing. Henderson is ordered to eliminate Charlie, who bugged the files he left in Moore's office and has already left the country.
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