This film is all about how bureaucracy works. How the spy agencies tackle and deal with problems that arise. Different agencies have different and sometimes contrasting ways to deal with the same problem and this leads to a dilemma which I think is the main theme of the film. The movie addresses the question of whether it is better to come up with the quick solution by nabbing the ordinary low-lives who become terrorists by getting influenced by others or is it worth the patience to let them do what they are supposed to in order to get to the real bosses and masterminds and get to a solution that is more significant and I think it addresses it brilliantly. The director develops a very tensed atmosphere throughout the entire film and never succumbs to the pressure of coming up with flashy over the top action sequences and the screenplay is very realistic. Now let's come to the acting. There are many supporting actors like Rachel Mcadams, Willem Dafoe,etc who are good. But this film is Philip Seymour Hoffman's vehicle. He is stupendously brilliant as he always was throughout his career. This film allows him to go out with a bang and show the world why he was one of the greatest. He plays a character who is a chain smoker and who uses this addiction to hide from the failures and struggles of his past career. Hoffman never puts a foot wrong. While the film was more or less brilliant, there were one or two minor scenes which seemed slightly unrealistic and Rachel Mcadams' German accent was sort of on again off again. But apart from these I can't find any flaws. Some people who want every spy thriller to be like James Bond have called this boring, but for people who like gritty,realistic stories about spies and national security, this will be a rewarding experience.
