Target Number One – A Solid Canadian Thriller

Target Number One (or Most Wanted depending on where you are) is the latest based-on-true-events crime thriller that may not bring anything new to the table but what it does do, it does right for the most part resulting in a solid experience. Meanwhile, the film does take a long time to get going without mentioning its slow burn story which didn’t quite mesh with the story’s structure though the film improves once it finds its groove (and there’s time considering the 2+ hour running time). This Canadian film recounts a story of gross injustice that many may not have heard of though its appeal should span beyond Canada. Back in the late 1980’s, the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mountain Police) targeted a drug addict with no previous criminal record named Alain Olivier and lured him to Thailand to take part in a failed undercover sting operation known as Operation Deception for which he was sentenced to death in a Bangkok court. All in all, that operation was a parade of errors that pretty much went unchecked. However, efforts towards some sort of justice have continued as of the early 2000s.

Of course certain facts and details have changed with this cinematic adaptation (in its attempt to deal with a broader audience). As it stands, Target Number One follows a broken down, ex-heroin junkie named Daniel Léger (Pilon) who was just trying to survive. In doing so, Leger eventually found himself with a man named Picker (Gaffigan), a shady boat charter operator who also dabbled in illegal activities, led him on a path to his eventual downfall. In the end, he was in over his head in a world that was much bigger than he was and merely a pawn of the many shady characters behind it with some being part of the Canadian government and chief superintendent Frank Cooper (Stephen McHattie). The reason for their interest was that they needed a fall guy for their latest operation, a buy-and-bust scenario in Thailand. Meanwhile, their motivation for doing so was shady and self-serving at best as the situation for the most part continued to snowball from there, leading to Leger’s arrest and 8.5 year imprisonment (the drug laws in Thailand are much more severe).

The Cooper subplot was simply one of three within the film and was easily the weakest of the three though also the shortest, It unfolded over the course of the film’s other subplot thanks to the third member of the story, an ambitious journalist named Victor Malarek (Hartnett) who took interest in Leger’s story. Taking place in two different timelines to start, the film is a little hard to follow early on until these subplots finally synchronized. Through Malarek’s investigation and his interviews with Leger, we learn more and more about the events leading up to his Thailand arrest from his perspective and that of those who set him up and then tried to cover it up. While these two subplots were decently compelling to watch, they didn’t seem to fit together in a cohesive way. Each were big enough individually to sustain their own films but the balance wasn’t there as Malarek’s subplot took over for the back half of the film. As Malarek’s quest for the truth came at a professional and personal cost, Leger continued to suffer in a Thai prison. Nevertheless, they persisted and those familiar with the story in which the film is based and/or those who have ever seen any film won’t be surprised by the eventual outcome. Regardless, it was still emotional.

The best part of Target Number One was the solid performances from Pilon and Hartnett as Leger and Malarek respectively. Though none of them were particularly new, each sell their angles with their incredible charisma and screen presence. It was just a shame that they didn’t get more of a chance to do so. However, Pilon does edge ahead in creating a likable and relatable character for which the film would not have worked as well without. We as audiences have to care about the young and naive Leger to want to invest in the efforts towards finding him justice but he makes it easy to do so. Meanwhile, Hartnett has never been better, bringing charm and feistiness as the headstrong journalist.

In the end, Target Number One won’t set the world on fire but is still a solid time to be had.

still courtesy of Les Films Seville

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.