The creators of the film "The Amateur" spoke with China.org.cn on April 9 about their adaptation of a 1981 novel for the big screen, presenting an unconventional espionage thriller centered on a heartbroken man's quest for revenge.

A still from "The Amateur," which was released in China on April 11, 2025. [Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios]

"The Amateur" was Robert Littell's debut novel, establishing him as a prominent espionage thriller author before he gained wider fame with "The Company" (2002). 

Recognizing the significant evolution of the espionage landscape since the novel's publication, director James Hawes and his team were deliberate in their approach.

Hawes explained that their approach was to ensure they stayed true to the novel's core concept and maintain the emotional engine at the heart of the story. "Then we updated it," he said. "We changed some of the cities where the drama takes place. We updated the technology to be contemporary and near-future, so that it feels like it takes place now, in 2025."

Starring Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan and Laurence Fishburne, the film follows Charlie Heller (Malek), a brilliant but introverted CIA cryptographer whose life is shattered by the death of his wife in a terrorist attack in London. When the agency refuses to act, Heller embarks on a personal mission to track down those responsible.

In a world accustomed to sleek, highly trained spies on screen, "The Amateur" breaks the mold with its refreshingly unconventional protagonist. This gritty, globe-trotting revenge thriller delivers a clever and deeply human story at the heart of the spy genre — a vision the director describes as celebrating the power of the underdog. "It's about keeping the vulnerability of Heller as a character — keeping him sometimes clumsy, sometimes failing, but always fighting back," he said. 

In the film, Heller faces off against the CIA, the world's most powerful intelligence agency. The director believes audiences will wonder: How will he survive and achieve his goal? At each turn, Heller invents new ways to evade his pursuers or eliminate targets. The story stays true to the idea that he's not a seasoned professional. "He's an ordinary guy like us. We love to back an underdog, we love an unexpected hero," Hawes said.

The spy operations portrayed in the film draw inspiration from real CIA practices. "I'm almost scared to say this, but yes, we had technical advisers. We had security advisers throughout the production," the director revealed to China.org.cn. "Obviously, it's true that some of the things we invented pushed the edge, because I started from the basis of 'let's make this feel real' — and then gave it a little Hollywood boost. But quite often, we were dreaming up ideas during the scriptwriting process, asking some of the professionals if they were possible. And they would say, 'Sure, we've been doing that for years. Nothing new there.'"

The director noted that Oscar-winning actor Rami Malek has an innate intelligence and was perfect for the lead role. Meanwhile, Malek had been looking to get involved in an action film where the main character possessed both a high IQ and high emotional intelligence. 

A still from "The Amateur." [Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios]

"That's what drew me to the story and the role," the actor said. "You don't often see those two things balanced — in film or in life, necessarily. Maybe they exist, I'm sure they do, but I haven't seen that on the big screen."

Rami Malek said that he thinks his character, Charlie Heller, is incredibly human. "This is a very character-driven story where you can actually relate to the protagonist, and that's something I haven't seen before. And it still delivers the same heightened impact of scope, scale and explosive intensity that you get and deserve from an action film," he noted. 

For Malek, the film also explores a universal theme of grief and loss. "At its heart, it's about grief," he said. "You lose the love of your life, and what length will you go to ensure that your soulmate, that remarkable person who changed your life, is not forgotten?"