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Review: 'Tailor of Panama' will suit you

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In this story:

Osnard ... Andy Osnard

A whopper, gobbled whole

Not a traditional spy flick

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(CNN) -- "The Tailor of Panama" teeters from drama to farce to thriller to delicious black comedy, and delivers on all fronts.

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis, this stylish film is based on a novel of the same name by John le Carre. It's been adapted for the screen by director John Boorman, le Carre and Andrew Davies.

The movie is set in 1999 during the international controversy over control of the Panama Canal, ceded over to to the Panamanian government in an agreement reached in the 1970s by the administration of President Jimmy Carter.

Osnard ... Andy Osnard

Brosnan turns his James Bond persona inside-out playing Andy Osnard, a cynical, womanizing (OK, no change there) British spy who's been banished to Panama after a series of sexual escapades during his previous assignments -- a spy who's been pushed into the cold, you might say.

Osnard arrives in the country's capital, Panama City, determined to uncover something, anything, to get his reputation back. After all, Osnard figures, Panama for years was the worldwide center for money-laundering and drug-dealing: Something nasty must be happening somewhere.

His plan is to rip open some type of evil can of worms to re-establish his professional name, and eventually get out of the spying business altogether. If he happens to make some quick money on the side, well, so much the better.

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CNN's Lauren Hunter talks with actor Geoffrey Rush about his latest role as 'The Tailor of Panama'

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Looking for an insider with access to the government's rich and powerful, he zeroes in on Harry Pendel (Rush). A British expatriate, he's a man with a secret past who has reinvented himself as a popular tailor with a client list including everyone from former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega to the current heads of government. Assuming Harry knows where all the "bodies are buried," Osnard recruits him as his main source for information.

What Osnard does not know is that Pendel is a notorious storyteller who never lets the truth get in the way of a good yarn. His motto: "Sincerity is a virtue, honesty an affliction." Pendel firmly establishes his sense of the dramatic when he says to Osnard at one of their first meetings, "Welcome to Panama -- Casablanca without heroes."

A whopper, gobbled whole

Since Osnard's bosses in England are nervous about the future of one of the world's most important free trade routes, Pendel obliges the disgraced spy by spinning a tale about Panamanian plot to sell the canal to a cartel made up of the French, Japanese and Chinese governments. Osnard takes the bait, the British take the bait, the Americans take the bait and the scamming kicks into high gear.

Curtis, in the role of Pendel's American wife, Louisa, gives one of her best performances. She works for the Panamanians who run the canal, knows the plot is bogus and gets caught in the intrigue as she tries to keep her husband from getting in too deep. Of course, it doesn't work, or there would be no final act to the movie.

Rush is perfection as the truth-challenged tailor. This Academy Award-winning actor plays this character -- who does horrible things -- as a complete innocent, thereby keeping viewers' sympathy.

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Geoffrey Rush plays the title role, a truth-challenged clothier, in "The Tailor of Panama"  

Not a traditional spy flick

Brosnan, whose portrayal of Osnard is the opposite of James Bond, appears to be having a grand time spoofing the spy. He utilizes all his sexy charm, but still pokes fun at his 007 image as the world's most successful and glamorous agent. As the stakes get higher and higher -- and the truth gets further and further from what Osnard's reporting to his government -- Brosnan positively quivers with glee.

"The Tailor of Panama" is unlike le Carre's other contemporary Cold War creations, which can be dark, morally ambiguous affairs. This film provides the author's standard thrills, twists and turns, but at the same time keeps its tongue firmly in its cheek. The result is a movie that strays far and wide from the standard spy genre.

Boorman keeps the action flowing, while cutting out of sequence, and uses Carter Burwell's marvelous score to help underline his dramatic points. He also utilizes the Panamanian location to great effect, capturing the country's tropical beauty, desperate poverty and its Latin vitality as it enters the 21st century.

A couple of interesting notes: British playwright Harold Pinter plays Harry's dead Uncle Benny, who appears throughout the film giving advice to his wayward nephew. Also, the role of Harry and Louisa's son Mark is played by Daniel Radcliffe, who was picked out of thousands of young hopefuls to play the coveted role of Harry Potter in the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

"The Tailor Of Panama" opens in limited release on Friday. Rated R. 109 minutes.



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