The Amateur

After a London terrorist attack takes his wife, Heller, an introverted CIA codebreaker, refuses to accept the agency's quiet handling of the case. Frustrated by evasive briefings and procedural delays, he starts following leads on his own, applying cryptographic expertise and off-the-books surveillance to piece together what happened. As he narrows the trail, his actions escalate from careful analysis to riskier field moves, drawing scrutiny from superiors and dangerous attention from those he's tracking. The film keeps the focus on his interior state, showing how grief and obsession narrow perspective and raise the stakes.

Directed by James Hawes, The Amateur premiered theatrically in 2025. It's adapted from material developed by Robert Littell, Ken Nolan, and Gary Spinelli, and assembles a strong ensemble with Rami Malek, Holt McCallany, Rachel Brosnahan, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Danny Sapani.

Theatrical rollout was steady rather than spectacular, with the movie resonating with thriller audiences but not topping charts. Box office returns were modest and varied by territory, and the film later reached additional viewers through home release windows and streaming.

Malek's restrained performance and a handful of tense action sequences sparked online discussion about how espionage work and grief are represented in modern thrillers. Clips and scene breakdowns circulated among fans and analysts, prompting debate about tradecraft realism and the ethics of personal retaliation, prompting detailed analytical pieces on blogs.

Overall reaction leaned mixed to positive, reflected in a 6.977 average from 1,420 votes. Many praised Malek's lead turn and the film's tense atmosphere and technical detail, while some critics faulted uneven pacing and occasional plot conveniences. Central themes include grief, institutional indifference, surveillance, and moral ambiguity, and audience conversations.