Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

“I hated it.” Sum verbatim commentary on The Tailor of Panama courtesy of my husband. I don’t usually take his commentary into account much (okay, at all) when deciding whether I like a movie or not, but this was such an unusual instance that I was actually taken aback. He hated it. Everything about it. And I am usually a much harsher critic than he is. And this isn’t some sappy love story that I knew he would hate. But he did. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that he was right on many levels. There is much to hate in this movie. Not everything, perhaps, but enough.

The movie begins with British intelligence agent Andy Osnard (Pierce Brosnan) being exiled from the U.K. due to a number of personal infractions, with a number of wives. His destination? Panama. His superior considers him an excellent officer (read: spy), but was unable to save him from this fate. When Osnard asks if he is being put out to pasture (which, of course, he is) his superior reassures him that there is much work to be done in Panama. The Panama Canal being vital to British interests, its fate must be closely monitored. He gives Osnard a list of the 200 resident Brits in Panama City, sure that one of them will be able to provide the kind of information Osnard needs.

Once in Panama, Osnard seeks out lodging in a seedy hotel, as well as seeking out his intended target, Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush). Pendel is a well regarded tailor, with a reputation for dressing those with power, a wife who works with the government, and a past he would very much like to keep secret. Osnard uses this secret to strong arm Pendel into providing information. He promises to rectify some of Pendel’s financial difficulties, but only if he comes through with useable intelligence that will shake things up at British headquarters. Pendel has been in Panama for a long time, and has seen much, but the type of information Osnard is looking for simply does not exist. So Pendel uses past experience and fertile imagination to make up a hell of a story. Osnard doesn’t care if the story is true or not, he is just using the situation to scam government money and disappear. Pendel doesn’t care if the story is true or not, he’s just looking to keep his secret, buy a farm, and help some friends out. Neither of them counts on the consequences of their actions, for when the governments are given the potentially explosive material, they react with predictable movie swiftness and stupidity. Osnard doesn’t care, but Pendel does. His conscience simply will not allow him to fiddle while Rome burns.

The story is really that of Harry Pendel, the tailor with delusions of importance. His American wife Louisa (Jamie Lee Curtis) and children, his thriving business, and his skill at his craft are not enough to keep him from being pulled into Osnard’s world by the promise of money and intrigue. His history in Panama is only touched on in flashback and some exposition, but he has clearly been affected by violent politics. He has friends from times past that could use some of the money Osnard promises, adding yet another layer or two to his motive to become involved in this scheme. He is an interesting man, in an interesting situation, and he is played well by Rush. We manage to get a feeling of deep layers of complexity to this man without a lot of explicit detail. He also happens to be an excellent tailor. The scene at the beginning of the movie that shows him detailing out a suit on a piece of fabric is wonderful. This skill seems to be the only area of his life in which he takes real pride.

If we were able to focus on the story of Harry Pendel, this would be a most intriguing film. His character could easily have expanded to fill quite a bit more of the movie. Unfortunately, our focus is split between the interesting character and Andy Osnard. Osnard is a smarmy, sleazy, womanizing, misogynistic caricature from some bad 1980’s TV movie of the week. He is unappealing at best, yet women seem to fall all over themselves to be with him. Casting Pierce Brosnan in the role simply compounds the mistake that is Andy Osnard. Playing dramatically against type, someone probably saw this as a clever parody of Brosnan’s James Bond persona. On paper it probably played just that way. On film, he’s just repugnant, and far worse, unbelievable. His absolute lack of conscience (as well as complexity) ultimately renders the character one dimensional and boring. The fact that the other characters buy into his slime diminishes them, much to the movies detriment. As a result, the movie is cut off at the knees by an antagonist of little value. What amounts to a really serious mid-life crisis for Harry Pendel ends up just another stupid cliché about double-crossing spies.

Overall, despite the fine performance of Rush and the interesting prospects his character holds, The Tailor of Panama falls apart amidst lack of a decent supporting character and a plot that relies too heavily on the charm of Pierce Brosnan, who unfortunately fails to exude any. While a viewer might be able to understand Harry falling into a situation such as this, for many reasons, we can’t see him falling into this situation, with this guy. Too bad, but in the end the movie just stinks. Skip it.


I admit wavering between one and two stars here, but decided that Geoffery Rush managed to push it just into the two zone.


Recommended: No

Viewing Format: DVD