Underrated

Rating: 9/10 (31 May 2008)

When I heard about this film I thought that it would be my cup of tea. I am interested in espionage, history and the Cold War and I like Robert De Niro. This film tells the story of the birth of the CIA during the Second World War to the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs invasion. The film focuses on Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) who starts out as a student at Yale University, gets recruited to the CIA and raises up the ranks. He first spies on his English professor, suspected of being a Nazi sympathiser and recruiter, for the FBI. After that success, the head of the OSS recruits him and sends him to England to learn the tricks of the spying trade. He slowing make contacts with American and British figures and works his way up to a senior officer in Berlin at the end of the war before becoming the head of counter-intelligence. The film also focuses on Edward's personal life. He is emotionally dead and never shows any feelings. He ends up marrying a woman named Margaret (Angelina Jolie) because he gets her pregnant. He has a strained relationship with his son who tries to follow in his fathers footsteps. Edward was never able to be with the woman he loves and I personally feel sorry for his wife because she lives a lonely, isolated lifestyle. The film also looks at many aspects of espionage and controversial bits of America's and the CIA's history. This includes the Americans helping Nazi scientists to work with them, the use of waterboarding and LSD and working with the Mafia during the Bay of Pigs.
Some people have criticised Angelina Jolie as Margaret, I personally think that it was a good move because she is meant to be someone very attractive and able to seduce Edward at first. She is also a good actress, she has won a Oscar and has done very well in a lot of her films.
If you are anything like me then you will find this film very interesting.