action thriller film
The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
based on the novel ''There Are No Spies'' by Bill Granger, which is the seventh installment in ''The November Man'' novel series, published in 1987. A British-American production, it stars
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...
Bill Smitrovich
William Stanley Zmitrowicz Jr. (born May 16, 1947), known professionally as Bill Smitrovich ( ), is an American actor.
Personal life
Smitrovich was born on May 16, 1947, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna (married and maiden names, née ...
and
Will Patton
William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''.Karl Gajdusek. The film is directed by
Roger Donaldson
Roger Lindsey Donaldson (born 15 November 1945) is an Australian and New Zealand film director, screenwriter, and producer. His 1977 debut film, ''Sleeping Dogs (1977 film), Sleeping Dogs'', is considered landmark work of Cinema of New Zealand ...
, who previously worked with Brosnan on ''
Dante's Peak
''Dante's Peak'' is a 1997 American disaster film directed by Roger Donaldson, written by Leslie Bohem, and starring Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, and Charles Hallahan. The film is set in the fictional town of Dante's Peak where the inhabitant ...
''. The film was released on August 27, 2014 in the United States.
The film depicts an attempt to use photographic evidence of Russian
war crimes
A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...
in the
Second Chechen War
Names
The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...
against a new
Russian President
The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...
-elect who was directly involved in the crimes.
Plot
In 2008,
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
agent Peter Devereaux supervises a young operative, David Mason, during a protective mission in
Montenegro
, image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg
, coa_size = 80
, national_motto =
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map = Europe-Mont ...
. Mason disobeys Devereaux's orders not to fire. He shoots and kills an assassin but also kills a child.
In 2013, Devereaux is retired in
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
, Switzerland. His former boss, John Hanley, arrives and convinces him to extract Natalia Ulanova, the aide of Russian President-elect and former Army General Arkady Fedorov. Ulanova breaks into Fedorov's safe and copies old photos depicting his war crimes. She contacts the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
extraction team, and escapes. Fedorov alerts the FSB, who pursue her through the streets of
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
until Devereaux rescues her. She gives him a name, Mira Filipova, which he relays to Hanley. The CIA team, co-ordinated by Hanley, is unaware of Devereaux's presence.
The station chief, Perry Weinstein, gives the order to kill Ulanova, which Mason does. A dying Ulanova hands Devereaux her phone containing the photos. As the CIA team leaves the parking lot, Devereaux kills everyone in the squad until he faces Mason at gunpoint. The two separate without shooting. It is revealed that Devereaux and Ulanova were involved before. Hanley is detained for interrogation.
Meanwhile,''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' journalist Edgar Simpson tracks down refugee case worker Alice Fournier and requests her assistance to write an exposé of Fedorov's war crimes during the
Second Chechen War
Names
The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...
. Alexa, an assassin, arrives in
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
, and finds out that Fournier will meet Simpson in a
cafe
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargil ...
. Devereaux also arrives in Belgrade, Serbia then heads to Hanley's house and finds Fournier as Filipova's only known contact. He arrives at the cafe and rescues Fournier from both Alexa and Mason's team.
Fournier says that Filipova pretended to Fedorov to be mute. She actually spoke Russian and overheard Fedorov's conversations, including the '
false flag
A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misrep ...
' conspiracy to bomb a Russian Army building to initiate war and seizure of Chechen oil fields. A former Fedorov associate, Denisov, confirms the conspiracy and reveals the CIA's involvement. Devereaux sends Fournier away.
Fedorov arrives in Belgrade for an energy conference. Fournier meets Simpson at his apartment where Alexa attacks them and kills him; but Fournier escapes. Devereaux infiltrates the CIA site where Hanley is being held; and Hanley claims Weinstein aided Fedorov and reveals that Fournier is actually Filipova. Mason also discovers the real Fournier died years ago and Filipova stole her identity. Filipova, disguised as a
prostitute
Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...
, goes to Fedorov's hotel room. It is revealed that during the war as a teenager, Filipova's family was murdered in front of her by Fedorov, who then held her captive as a sex slave for two years. She surprises Fedorov but is unable to kill him as he attacks her; Devereaux ascends the stairs in the Hotel, shoots the bodyguards, and saves her.
Devereaux interrogates Fedorov, demanding to know the name of the CIA operative involved in the operation. Fedorov, filmed by Filipova's phone, admits it was Hanley, not Weinstein; and Filipova confirms it. Mason arrives at the hotel but Devereaux and Filipova escape after he knocks out Mason and leaves him Fedorov's recorded confession. However, when Mason and Celia, his CIA partner, attempt to present the evidence Weinstein, they realize that he has been replaced by Hanley.
Devereaux calls his and Ulanova's daughter, Lucy; Hanley answers the phone, having kidnapped her. Devereaux convinces Filipova to wait for him at a train station. There, she goes to a public computer to write her story regarding Fedorov. Devereaux meets with Hanley and Mason, lying that Filipova is waiting at a bus station. Mason is tasked by Hanley to recover her. Alexa finds Filipova at the station, but she escapes and knocks Alexa unconscious before finishing the expose and sending it to the press. Hanley reveals his intention to blackmail Fedorov after he becomes the President, forcing Russia to join
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
against the
Middle-East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
. Celia finds the kidnappers' location and informs Mason, who rescues Lucy instead. He returns and helps Devereaux kill Hanley's men and subdue Hanley. Devereaux reunites with Lucy and together they find Filipova, whereupon all three leave on the train.
Later, Filipova testifies at the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
against Fedorov, annulling his candidacy. Fedorov is later shot in the head by an unknown sniper on his yacht.
Cast
*
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...
Bill Smitrovich
William Stanley Zmitrowicz Jr. (born May 16, 1947), known professionally as Bill Smitrovich ( ), is an American actor.
Personal life
Smitrovich was born on May 16, 1947, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna (married and maiden names, née ...
as John Hanley
*
Will Patton
William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''.Lazar Ristovski
Lazar "Laza" Ristovski ( sr-Cyrl, Лазар Ристовски, born 26 October 1952) is a Serbian former actor, director, producer and writer. He has appeared on stage about 4,000 times, and starred in over 90 films and 30 TV series, mostly i ...
as
Army General
Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime.
In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...
Arkady Fedorov
*
Mediha Musliović
Mediha Musliović (born 28 February 1975) is a Bosnians, Bosnian actress. She graduated in 1998 at the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo.
Filmography Films
TV series
External links
*
1975 births
Living people
Actresses from Sar ...
Miloš Timotijević
Miloš Timotijević ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Тимотијевић; born 9 March 1975) is a Serbian actor. He has appeared in more than sixty films and TV series since 1995.
Miloš is best known for his roles in American War movie, war film ''In th ...
as Fedorov’s Chief of Staff
* Dragan Marinković as Semyon Denisov
* Ben Willens as Agent Jones
* Tara Jevrosimović as Lucy
* Nina Mrda as Mira Filipova (15 years)
Production
Development
When
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...
retired from playing the role of
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
in 2005, it was reported that along with his then-business partner, Beau St. Clair, through their Irish DreamTime production company, he would be producing a down-to-earth spy thriller based on Bill Granger's book series, called ''The November Man'', focusing on one particular novel in the series titled ''There Are No Spies'', with shooting scheduled to begin in 2006. The project, however, was shelved sometime in 2007 for unknown reasons, while Brosnan held on to the screen rights to the novel with the plan to produce an adaptation in the future.
Pre-production
Eventually, in 2012, it was reported that Brosnan had the project resurrected and was put back on the trail with Dominic Cooper reportedly joining the production shortly after its announcement. In April 2013, whilst promoting his then-latest romantic comedy, '' Love Is All You Need'', Brosnan told the media: "I am about to go off to Serbia and do my own spy movie. Finally I have the director I want in
Roger Donaldson
Roger Lindsey Donaldson (born 15 November 1945) is an Australian and New Zealand film director, screenwriter, and producer. His 1977 debut film, ''Sleeping Dogs (1977 film), Sleeping Dogs'', is considered landmark work of Cinema of New Zealand ...
and we’re gonna do a piece called ''November Man'' so I shall jump back into that arena".
Casting
Brosnan revealed that Olga Kurylenko, who had a leading role in ''
Quantum of Solace
''Quantum of Solace'' is a 2008 spy thriller film and the twenty-second in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. Directed by Marc Forster and written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, Neal Purvis, Robe ...
'' and the recent '' Oblivion'', would co-star alongside him, commenting "I think there’s another room on the stage for another spy! Daniel raigcan’t have it all to himself. My co-star is a lovely actress called Olga Kurylenko, who seems to be going through leading men like hot dinners. She started with Daniel Craig and she’s gonna end up with Brosnan! She’s a gorgeous actress, beautiful woman. She’s in and it’s the older spy, younger spy". A month later, it was announced that shooting on the film would begin on 20 May 2013, with Luke Bracey and
Bill Smitrovich
William Stanley Zmitrowicz Jr. (born May 16, 1947), known professionally as Bill Smitrovich ( ), is an American actor.
Personal life
Smitrovich was born on May 16, 1947, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna (married and maiden names, née ...
joining the cast. Dominic Cooper, however, left the project to star in '' Need For Speed'', and was replaced with Bracey in the role of the main character's protege. In June 2013, it was reported that
Will Patton
William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''.Caterina Scorsone joined the cast; the former played an old-school senior CIA operative, while the latter played an "ambitious up-and-comer".
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began on May 20, 2013 in
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
, with Brosnan, Bracey, and many other supporting actors seen on site, but nothing particularly came out of the regular photographers and journalists, because it was moved away from public eye, and the sets were closed down for filming, guarded by tight security against all unauthorized personnel. In the original novel, Berlin was the main setting, but Brosnan stated that the production couldn't afford shooting there. Meanwhile, the second unit production team shot additional scenes in
Montenegro
, image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg
, coa_size = 80
, national_motto =
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map = Europe-Mont ...
locations posing as
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. On June 2, 2013, Olga Kurylenko was spotted filming an action scene with Brosnan. Production on the film officially wrapped in late July 2013, and entered its post-production phase in September, later that year.
Music
On December 3, 2013, it was announced that
Marco Beltrami
Marco Beltrami (born October 7, 1966) is an American composer of film and television scores. He has worked in a number of genres, including horror ('' Scream'', ''Mimic, The Faculty, Resident Evil, The Woman in Black, Carrie, A Quiet Place'' ...
would be composing the soundtrack for the film. "I wanted to create a taut score incorporating a guitar theme with a slightly Eastern European meets Western motif befitting an action thriller about international espionage," said Beltrami. A soundtrack album was released by
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and cast recording, original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as ...
on September 9, 2014.
Other songs featured in the film include:
* "Die This Way" by Storm Large
* "Keep It Up" by Makao
* " Gnossienne No. 3" by
Erik Satie
Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...
* "Ticking Bomb" by
Aloe Blacc
Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally as Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer and rapper. He is known for his guest performance on Avicii's 2013 single "Wake Me Up (Avicii song), Wake Me Up", which peaked on ...
Release
The film was released on August 27, 2014. On June 6, 2014, the first trailer for the film was released worldwide. The seventh novel in the original book series, ''There Are No Spies'', was republished as ''The November Man'' to promote the release. The film was released on
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
on November 25, 2014.
Box office
''The November Man'' grossed $25 million in North America and $7.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $32.6 million, against a budget of $15 million.
In its opening weekend the film grossed $7.9 million, finishing in 6th place at the box office.
Reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has an approval rating of 35%, based on 124 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''The November Man'' has a few of the ingredients necessary for a better-than-average spy thriller, making it all the more disappointing that it falls back on dull genre clichés." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a score of 38 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". On
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data.
Background
Ed Mintz, who ...
, audiences gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Bilge Ebiri of ''
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...
'' wrote, "Brosnan, who was a better James Bond than he often gets credit for, doesn’t like to smile much, but he still brings a weary likability to a grim part, just enough to keep us invested as the movie trots through its gauntlet of familiar twists and double-crosses."
Possible sequel
On June 12, 2014, it was revealed that Sriram Das' production company, Das Films, had commissioned a sequel to the film. On August 20, 2014, while on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...
'', Brosnan said that a sequel was in preparation, and
Relativity Media
Relativity Media, LLC is an American independent media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company ...
would soon be entering pre-production. However, nothing further has been reported since then, and it is presumed that the project has been shelved.