In theaters

THE TAILOR OF PANAMA, 109 minutes, R, directed by John Boorman, written by Boorman, John le Carre and Andrew Davies.

In “The Tailor of Panama,” John Boorman’s smart, sophisticated espionage thriller based on the literate best-selling novel by John le Carre, Boorman (“Deliverance,” “The General”) scores a master stroke of casting that lifts his film straight out of the canal – and right onto England’s rear.

For the role of Andy Osnard, the libidinous, sleazy secret agent stirring up trouble at the heart of le Carre’s heartless dark comedy, Boorman cast Pierce Brosnan, the current 007, and has a great time skewering all that 007 has come to mean as one of pop culture’s most iconic cinematic figures. Indeed, this secret agent is hardly out to help others – he’s out to help himself.

Working from a script he co-wrote with le Carre and Andrew Davies, Boorman’s dense, complex satire – which le Carre himself admits couldn’t have been possible without the inspiration of Graham Greene’s “Our Man in Havana” – finds Osnard freshly banished to Panama after infuriating his superiors at the British Secret Service for being, well, a bit too familiar with the women.

Now on the hustle to please the Crown so he can get out of Panama and return home, the vicious, nasty Osnard turns to Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush), a British expatriate and much-sought-after tailor to powerful Panamanian officials whom Osnard believes can get him the inside information he needs. Riddled with secrets of his own, Pendel, whose debts are now suddenly and dangerously being bankrolled by Osnard, finds himself in a pinch; if he refuses to help Osnard, not only will the truth about his sordid past be revealed, but his wife, Louisa (Jamie Lee Curtis), and their two children, whom he deeply loves, might find themselves on the cutting room floor of his swanky shop.

The problem? Pendel has no real inside information on anyone. The solution? He’s such a shrewd little cockney con artist, he’s hardly above feeding Osnard a handful of lies about an alleged revolution.

There are so many twists, turns and double-dealings stitched into the seams of “The Tailor of Panama,” saying too much about its mechanics would ruin the experience of seeing the film. We’ll leave it at this: In spite of sometimes being too vague for its own good, the film ultimately comes through with a handful of genuine surprises.

Gorgeously photographed by Philippe Rousselot and beautifully acted by a terrific cast – including an unexpected cameo by playwright Harold Pinter – this is a spy thriller for adults, who will appreciate Boorman’s style, his wit and insight, and best of all, his film’s sense of irony.

Grade: A-

On Video and DVD

TRAFFIC, 147 minutes, R, directed by Stephen Soderbergh, written by Stephen Gaghan.

With guts, muscle and several kilos of brio, Stephen Soderbergh storms into video stores with “Traffic,” a great movie about the ongoing drug wars that brilliantly, stylishly and powerfully interweaves three loosely related stories.

Armed with a powerhouse of a cast (including Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis Quaid, Albert Finney, Don Cheadle, Amy Irving, Luis Guzman, Erika Christensen and Benicio Del Toro), Soderbergh lights his own scenes and acts as his own cinematographer to capture a frenetic, unpredictable world fraught with violence, betrayal, addiction, great wealth, greater despair, and, underscoring it all, the highs and lows of a society corrupted by drugs.

What’s new about that? Plenty. The film’s triumph isn’t just in its brutal depiction of a society we think we’ve seen, but in how the director resists the temptation to moralize. Indeed, what Soderbergh presents in “Traffic” isn’t cynical or, for that matter, even hopeful. Instead, by shooting his film in the rougher edges of a documentary style, he becomes something of a journalist, one whose unrelenting eye is content to chronicle the events, but not to comment on them. That decision gives his film a ferocious power.

From Catherine-Zeta Jones’ beautifully gritty performance as a society matron who learns her family’s fortune was built on drugs to Michael Douglas’ moving turn as a drug czar whose daughter (Christensen) has taken a liking to crack and heroin, “Traffic” generously gives each actor his or her moment.

The film might not offer a groundbreaking view of the drug trade, but what it sees in the big picture is nevertheless chilling. I’ve been vague about the film’s specifics but that’s because much of the movie’s enjoyment comes from the surprises Soderbergh keeps springing on his audience as if he were an addict waving a loaded gun.

The best surprise? Hands down, that belongs to Benicio Del Toro’s amazing performance as the Tijuana cop, Javier Rodriguez. See the movie yourself to find out why Del Toro won a Best Supporting Actor award at this year’s Academy Awards.

Grade: A

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays in Style, Thursdays in the scene, Tuesdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5” and Thursdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5:30” on WLBZ-2 and WCSH-6. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com

THE VIDEO CORNER

Renting a video? NEWS film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores.

Shadow of the

Vampire ? B+

Traffic ? A

Antitrust ? D

Before Night Falls ? A

Best in Show ? A

Requiem for a Dream ? A

Vertical Limit ? B-

Pay it Forward ? C

Duets ? D

Quills ? B