The Tailor of Panama
Ruthless, seductive British spy Andy Osnard (Pierce Brosnan) may have been banished to Panama, but he’s got a secret weapon—Harry Pendel (Academy Award© winner Geoffrey Rush), a Cockney ex-con who has reinvented himself as a popular tailor to the rich and powerful of the country. Harry is famous for his storytelling as well as his suits, but this time Harry’s yarns will give Osnard his comeuppance.
Set against the controversy of the Panama Canal after its successful handover from America to Panama in late 1999, The Tailor of Panama twists from drama to farce as Harry’s stories spin out of control and inadvertently set off a chain of events that threatens Panama and everything he values in life.
In The Tailor of Panama, John Boorman (Academy Award© nominee for Deliverance and Hope and Glory) and John le Carré, the acknowledged master of the spy novel, team for a new breed of contemporary spy thriller based on le Carré’s hit 1996 book.
Time magazine described John le Carré as "the greatest spy writer of his time—perhaps of all time." THE TAILOR OF PANAMA is a subtle blend of thriller and black comedy, some distance from le Carré’s other cold war creations.
Veteran filmmaker John Boorman won acclaim early in his career with POINT BLANK and DELIVERANCE, both critical and commercial successes. Over the years his work has demonstrated a stunning breadth of vision—from his affectionate wartime memoir HOPE AND GLORY to the Arthurian epic EXCALIBUR, from the gritty realism of urban Dublin in THE GENERAL to the environmental rape of Brazil in THE EMERALD FOREST. With THE TAILOR OF PANAMA, Boorman enters the world of international intrigue and espionage liberally laced with humor.
Geoffrey Rush plays Harry, tailor and fantasist. Pierce Brosnan plays Osnard, the British agent. Add to this potent mix the charismatic Jamie Lee Curtis as Harry’s wife Louisa, and all the components for high-octane entertainment are in place. Chilean-born Leonor Varelaplays Marta, Harry’s business manager and his conscience. Award- winning Brendan Gleeson plays damaged, streetwise Mickie Abraxas, who might have been a hero under different circumstances. Catherine McCormack is British diplomat and ice maiden Francesca, who swiftly thaws in the heat of Osnard’s lust.
Actor/director David Hayman plays Osnard’s boss, Luxmore, who finds he needs to personally oversee the final act of Osnard’s cunning plot. John Fortune plays British ambassador Maltby, a naïve participant in Osnard’s ambitious scheme. And Britain’s leading playwright Harold Pinter makes one of his all too rare acting appearances as Harry’s Uncle Benny, his dead mentor who, in times of crisis, "appears" to Harry.
Harry and Louisa’s son, Mark, is played by young actor Daniel Radcliffe.
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