The Infiltrator
Short description
The Infiltrator is a crime drama based on a true story from the 1980s. Robert Mazur, a U.S. federal agent who specialises in undercover work, takes on an assignment targeting the money laundering operations of Pablo Escobar's drug cartel. Adopting the identity of a wealthy businessman named Bob Musella, he poses as a money launderer for organised crime. A colleague, the volatile Emir Abreu, works alongside him, while a rookie agent, Kathy Ertz, pretends to be Mazur's fiancée to make his cover convincing.
Brad Furman directed the film, his third feature after The Lincoln Lawyer and Runner Runner, from a screenplay by Ellen Brown Furman. Bryan Cranston plays Mazur, with Diane Kruger as Ertz, John Leguizamo as Abreu, Benjamin Bratt as Roberto Alcaino and Amy Ryan as Bonni Tischler. The production cost around 28 million USD and took about 21 million USD worldwide.
On IMDb the film holds a rating of 7 out of 10 from roughly 85,000 votes, while on TMDB it scores 6.7 out of 10 from a much smaller number of votes. A critics' rating of 6.4 out of 10 from 179 reviews places it close to the audience scores, suggesting a broadly similar reception on both sides.
What's left behind the scenes
- Actor Bryan Cranston is 180 centimeters tall. He is significantly taller than his real-life counterpart.
- Before filming began, Bryan Cranston spent several days with Robert Mazur, whom he portrayed in the film "The Infiltrator".
- Some episodes of the film were shot at the airfield in Dunsfold, Surrey, England. The same location was used for filming the 2002 reboot of the automotive show "Top Gear".
- A representative of director Brad Furman sent a copy of Robert Mazur’s book to British producer Miriam Segal, who immediately recognized the cinematic potential of the story. Her company, Good Films, acquired the rights to an adaptation and compiled a list of potential screenwriters. Ellen Sue Brown, Furman’s mother, who is credited as Ellen Brown Furman, was included on the list. As Furman himself recounted: "Ultimately, Miriam came to me and said, 'I'm hiring your mother as a screenwriter, because there's no one better.'"
- Federal agent Robert Mazur, played by Bryan Cranston, was simply called Bob by everyone. For the operation to infiltrate the criminal syndicate, he took the alias “Bob Musella”.
- In the television series “Breaking Bad” (2008-2013), Hank and Walt Jr. mention a book written by Robert Mazur, a special agent of the U.S. Customs Service. In the film “Donnie Brasco”, Bryan Cranston plays the role of Mazur.
- This is Brad Furman’s second film starring Bryan Cranston and John Leguizamo. Both actors appeared in his 2011 thriller, "The Lincoln Lawyer".
- As costume designer Dina Colline later revealed, the appearance of the drug trafficker’s wife, played by Elena Anaya, was partially inspired by former US First Lady Nancy Reagan.
- The film was shot and released seven years after the publication in 2009 of Robert Mazur's book, "Undercover Agent: My Secret Life and the Banks That Laundered Money for Pablo Escobar's Medellín Cartel".
- The first film directed by Brad Furman, in which he also served as a producer.
- After Olympia Dukakis portrays the main character’s aunt, Cathy says she deserves an “Oscar” for Best Supporting Role. Dukakis actually has an “Oscar” for that category for the film “Moonstruck”.
- Work on the film began after Brad Furman read Robert Mazur's book "The Infiltrator: My Secret Life and the Banks That Laundered Money for Pablo Escobar's Medellín Cartel." The book was recommended to the director by producer Don Sikorski, with whom Furman had been acquainted for many years and had collaborated with on numerous occasions.
- During a lunch in New York, where Bryan Cranston was playing Lyndon Johnson in one of the Broadway productions, director Brad Furman spoke about the film "The Infiltrator" and offered the actor a role. Cranston asked to be given the script, read it, and agreed.
- During "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," the host asked actor Bryan Cranston if he expected to end up in Heaven after death. “After everything I’ve done in Tampa, no,” the actor replied, referring to the filming of Brad Furman’s “The Infiltrator” in Tampa.
- Bryan Cranston’s role in the series “Breaking Bad” (2008-2013) earned him four Emmy Awards, and he made a lasting impression on Brad Furman with his performance in “The Lincoln Lawyer” (2011).
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