A man, a plan, a canal — 'Panama'

\"I believe you're the wickedest man I've ever met," gasps a female character to Andy Osnard toward the end of "The Tailor of Panama."\n"I thought that was the attraction," Osnard replies amusedly.\nIt is indeed. Osnard is played by Pierce Brosnan as only Pierce Brosnan can, and although he might be exceptionally wicked, he's not the villain. In fact, in Panama City -- "Casablanca without heroes," as one character puts it -- he could be the closest thing the film has to a hero, if only because he's the smartest and the best-looking. \nAt the beginning of the film, Osnard, an MI6 agent (yes, just like that Bond fellow), is assigned a thankless post in Panama City after committing certain indiscretions with a Spanish diplomat's mistress. Osnard immediately looks for a point of access into the wealthy social and political elite of the canal country, where he's sure somebody can be exploited for his own financial gain. He finds his man in Harry Pendle (Geoffrey Rush), a British tailor who makes suits for anyone who can afford his high prices. Osnard suspects Pendle is privy to the latest wheelings and dealings and starts pumping him for information. Pendle is reluctant, but his massive debts eventually convince him of his "patriotic" duty to help the British intelligence man.\nInformation is currency in the film's world, but no one seems concerned about whether it's counterfeit as long as they can convince the next man up the totem pole that it's legit. Pendle starts giving Osnard gossip that someone as savvy as the spy can't possibly believe -- but it doesn't really matter, because it's what he wants to hear. The web of who's telling who what and how much of it is true grows increasingly complicated as Pendle's American wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) and a burned-out Resistance fighter from the Noriega days (Brendan Gleeson) are caught up in Osnard's machination.\nDirector John Boorman (Deliverance, The General) handles John LeCarré's novel with style and wit -- here's a South American spy thriller with no car chases, surprise killings or gigantic explosions -- just a well-crafted story and actors who are obviously having a ball. Geoffrey Rush is bulbous and vile, but somehow evokes sympathy. Brosnan gets to parody his 007 persona by bringing the nasty, misogynist undercurrent that sometimes pervades the Bond films to the fore. He's unscrupulous and unprincipled -- but you might find yourself rooting for him anyway.