What You Need to Know About the Thriller The Amateur Starring Rami Malek
Oscar laureate Rami Malek steps into the shoes of a CIA cryptographer bent on revenge for his wife’s death in the taut thriller The Amateur. Here’s why this film deserves your attention.
The Plot
“You’re just a nerd glued to a computer,” a character taunts Charles, brought to life by 43-year-old Rami Malek—whose knack for portraying quiet, brilliant minds that reshape the world is well-known. Don’t let that fool you, though.
Charles Heller, the film’s protagonist, is a CIA cryptographer whose life unravels when a London terrorist attack claims his wife, Sara (Rachel Brosnahan). When he realizes his superiors won’t act, tangled in conflicting priorities, Charles shifts gears. Once content decoding secrets from behind a screen, he begs colleagues to train him in combat and grant him a new identity—an agent hunting his wife’s killers. The CIA scoffs, doubting he could outmatch even a 90-year-old nun. Undeterred, Charles takes justice into his own hands.
The Detective Novel That Inspired It
The Amateur draws from The Dilettante, a 1981 novel by acclaimed American author Robert Littell, a master of espionage fiction. Littell’s intricate, pulse-pounding tales often leap to the screen—think the 1981 film The Amateur with Christopher Plummer and John Savage.
Rami Malek
Rami Malek shot to fame as hacker Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot, earning a Critics’ Choice Television Award and an Emmy. In 2020, his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody clinched him an Oscar. He later played the cunning villain in 2021’s James Bond installment, No Time to Die. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Malek revealed his pull toward characters who feel like outsiders—“misfits who often go unseen.” “What excites me as an actor is watching them pull off extraordinary feats—that’s what I wanted to capture here,” he said. Notably, he also co-produced The Amateur.
He draws a thread between Charles and Elliot Alderson, his Mr. Robot alter ego across four seasons. “They share a sense of isolation, a wrestle with grief, navigating its every stage,” he mused.
Preparing for the Role
Back in 2010, Malek played a soldier in Steven Spielberg’s WWII series The Pacific. He trained at a Marine Corps boot camp, learning to fire mortars and handle vintage weapons—skills that lingered. While The Amateur doesn’t lean on those directly—Charles outsmarts foes with brain over brawn—they bolstered his confidence. His real prep? Hitting the gym and brushing up on programming. That tech savvy becomes Charles’ ace when he embarks on his covert quest. In one standout scene, a single button press shatters a massive pool where one of his wife’s killers swims—a jaw-dropping spectacle.
The Supporting Cast
Rachel Brosnahan stars as Sara, Charles’ wife. Known for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, she’s set to appear in James Gunn’s superhero flick Superman next summer.
Laurence Fishburne, of The Matrix fame, rounds out the lineup as Henderson, the man gearing Charles up during his CIA spy training. Together, they elevate this tale of vengeance and cunning.
