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The Amateur (1981 film)
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Wikipedia article
'The Amateur' is a 1981 Canadian crime/thriller film directed by Charles Jarrott with a screenplay by Robert Littell, which he then adapted into a novel of the same name. It stars John Savage and Christopher Plummer.
Plot
When his fiance is murdered by terrorists, a CIA cryptographer named Charles Heller blackmails his superiors into sending him on a field assignment into Czechoslovakia to assassinate those responsible. Just as he enters the field, the CIA locates the stolen material he had been using to blackmail the Agency, eliminating their need to cooperate with him. So he is behind the Iron Curtain, inadequately trained, and without support.
He nonetheless reaches his safe house, meets his local contact, Elisabeth, and kills two members of the terrorist band. He discovers the location of their ringleader, Schrger, the man who had killed his fianc, but attracts the attention of the local security forces, who begin following him.
At the site where he expects his final showdown with Schrger he is ambushed by his CIA trainer, Anderson, who explains that Schrger is a double agent working for the CIA who had killed his fianc under orders to establish his bona fides by murdering an American. He insists that Heller explain his own rogue status to Schrger so that the terrorist, who believes Heller was sent by the CIA to kill him, will continue to work with the Americans.
A senior agent of the local security service, Lakos, overhears all this.
Schrger arrives, kills Anderson in a shootout, and is killed by Heller. Lakos, who has come to respect Heller, helps him and Elisabeth escape back to the west in exchange for his promise to write a book embarrassing the CIA.
Cast
* John Savage as Charles Heller
* Christopher Plummer as Professor Lakos
* Marthe Keller as Elisabeth
* Arthur Hill as Brewer
* Jan Rube as Kaplan
* John Marley as Molton
* Ed Lauter as Anderson
Filming locations
* Kleinburg, Ontario
* Toronto, Ontario
* Oakville, Ontario
* Valley Halla Estate, Scarborough (Toronto, Ontario)
* Vienna, Austria
Recognition
1982 nominations:
* Genie Award for Best Achievement in Art Direction - Trevor Williams
* Genie Award for Best Achievement in Overall Sound - Dennis Drummond, Wayne Griffin, Michael O'Farrell
* Genie Award for Best Achievement in Sound Editing - Austin Grimaldi, Joe Grimaldi, Peter Shewchuk, Dino Pigat
* Genie Award for Best Motion Picture - Garth Drabinsky, Joel B. Michaels
* Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor - John Savage
* Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actress - Marthe Keller
* Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Christopher Plummer
* Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Nicholas Campbell
* Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Chapelle Jaffe
* Genie Award for Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium - Diana Maddox
References
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