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The Amateur (2025) is an American action spy thriller directed by James Hawes, based on Robert Littell’s 1981 novel. Released by 20th Century Studios on April 11, 2025, the film stars Rami Malek as Charlie Heller, a CIA cryptographer turned vigilante, seeking revenge after his wife is killed in a terrorist attack.
The film combines espionage and intense action, traveling through numerous cities across Europe and the Middle East. To date, the movie has received a 6.7 rating on IMDb.
There are several places in Europe where the movie takes place, and each one is very important to the story. Cities like London, Paris, Istanbul, Madrid, and Marseille are shown in The Amateur. Each one has a different feel to it and adds to the drama.
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These places were carefully picked to give the impression of a real global spy operation. They are not typical tourist spots like the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben. The locations where The Amateur was filmed were picked because they were both real and could show the different stages of Charlie Heller's journey.
From a quiet house in the suburbs of Kent to the busy streets of Paris, each setting makes the world of spying and revenge feel more real. The following places are important to the story of the movie because they show important moments that shape the character's search for justice.
Filming locations of The Amateur: England
The first scene of the movie is in Charlie and Sarah Heller's house in Virginia. It was filmed near Faversham, Kent, in England. Because it was built in the American style, the house looks like it belongs in a quiet suburban neighborhood, which fits Charlie's job as a cryptographer.
The location makes you feel like you're in rural Virginia, even though it was shot in the middle of Kent. The simple setting of the house highlights the sad loss that drives Charlie to do his job and avenge his wife's death.
CIA headquarters and Langley
In The Amateur, the CIA headquarters are not in the United States; they were built in London. Scenes inside the CIA were filmed in a number of places, including the old Heinz headquarters in Hayes. The outside of the CIA building was filmed at Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank of London.
The canteen scene was filmed at St. Anthony's College in Oxford, and the scenes inside Langley were filmed at the Aldermaston nuclear base, which made it look like the CIA was doing something secret.
The Christopher Hotel, London
The Christopher Hotel is the site of a major action scene in The Amateur. Sarah is caught in a dangerous raid there. This scene was filmed at the famous St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London.
Even though St. Pancras wouldn't let the movie use its name, the hotel's grand architecture was perfect for its role as a fancy place for the hotel raid. Having multiple cell phones and CCTV cameras around during the scene makes it even more unsettling.
Camp Peary, Suffolk
In The Amateur, Charlie learns how to be a spy at Camp Peary, also known as the "Farm." A closed airbase in Suffolk, UK, was used to film this CIA training site.
The facility is in the middle of nowhere, which is very different from the fast-paced, international action scenes that come next. The training scene serves as a crucial part in showing how Charlie changes from a cryptographer to a vigilante who wants to do good.
Marseille, France
Marseille, with its gritty urban settings and coastal beauty, serves as a crucial location in The Amateur. Chace's emotional journey gets even more complicated when he goes to Marseille and meets Henderson in a nightclub.
The club scene, which was filmed at London's famous Fabric, shows how Charlie deals with his PTSD. The mix of gritty city life and the Mediterranean coast makes the chase scenes in the movie even more tense.
Also read: The Amateur soundtrack: A list of every song in the movie
Filming locations of The Amateur: Istanbul, Turkey
In the last part of the movie, Charlie's search takes place in Istanbul, which has a lot of beautiful old and new buildings. They sneak him into Turkey, where he finds his informant, Inquiline.
Director James Hawes picked Istanbul because it is in a unique place between East and West. Its long history and political importance made it a great place to film the spy movie. The choice to film in Istanbul instead of Prague, different from the book, gives the spy thriller a new feel.
Russia and Turkey (Primorsk Port)
Primorsk, a Russian port, is the site of one of the last fights in The Amateur. But due to difficulties with the filming schedule, this scene had to be filmed in Istanbul's dockyard.
The industrial setting of the port and the presence of Russian ships create a real sense of danger as Charlie faces his enemy. The Russian port's café scene was filmed at the Hanwell Cricket Club in London, and an exact copy was built in Turkey for the outside shots.
Plot of The Amateur
Charlie Heller is a CIA cryptographer who goes on a personal mission after his wife Sarah is killed in a terrorist attack in London. This is the story of The Amateur. Charlie finds the men who killed Sarah with the help of a mysterious informant. Among them are a Belarusian criminal and a former special forces agent.
Also read: What role does Rami Malek play in The Amateur?
The story takes place in several European cities, such as Paris, Marseille, and Istanbul. As the story goes on, Charlie faces moral dilemmas and steps up his violent search for justice. The intense action scenes in the movie build up to a dramatic ending in which Charlie finds out dark secrets about the CIA.
The Amateur is running in theaters.
