Very slow but excellently done

Rating: 7/10 (12 December 2010)

Reviews of this film as slow were not wrong. If you are impatient or can't abide films which don't feel compelled to move along at a crackling pace, this one will not be for you. I enjoyed the film and knew going in that it was supposed to be quite pastoral in pace. Even in spite of this, I thinkthat attributing a bit more color to Matt Damon's high-ranking CIA official Edward Wilson would have helped substantially to inject this film with some energy which might have made the film that much more compelling. That is not to say this movie is bad. It isn't. The acting-from Damon's I-Make-Luke-Wilson-Look-Like-Roberto-Benigni colorless character, to Michael Gambon as a professor whose loyalties to either side in the Cold War are in question, from Angelina Jolie as the weary government wife to Eddie Redmayne as the Wilsons' son seeking approval from his remote father, from Alec Baldwin as a straight-laced gumshoe to the welcome return of Joe Pesci as a larger-than-life mob boss, from Tammy Blanchard as the key to Wilson's heart to Billy Crudup as the traitorous British spy Arch Cummings-based on real-life turncoat Kim Philby, the acting in this film is wonderful. Funnily enough, the one acting turn in this film which slightly annoyed me was that of director DeNiro himself. There was nothing wrong with his acting in and of itself. The fact that the character existed is what annoyed me. His presence in the film seemed superfluous and points to what is, for me one of DeNiro's weaknesses as a director-the need for a good editor. I didn't see the need for his character. I also found the movie dragged on to some degree. I didn't see the need for his character, as I mentioned, and even his romantic travails seem to add distracting layers to a film that has plenty to consider already.
That said, DeNiro's use of multiple beautiful locations here was masterly and made for a beautiful film. The use of music in the film was nicely done. Anchoring the early days of the CIA via a scene in which CIA staffers attempt to place a room simply based on information they can deduce via known information grounds the film well, particularly as the film comes to its final act, in which the successful identification of the place will drive the narrative. DeNiro has a great understanding for the importance of plot resolution and providing interesting material to keep the movie ticking along. The plot is masterly and fascinating. It's based on the life of James Angleton, the first head of Counter-Intelligence at the CIA. The screenplay by Eric Roth (The Insider, Forrest Gump, Ali) deserves a great deal of credit.
In stories "based on a true story", I often like a rather non-descript anchor through which the action of the film can flow quite smoothly, but I found Damon's Wilson to be beyond bland. I do think a more animated character might have enlivened the film to some degree and have made it just a little more lively, without sacrificing any of the sense or complexity of the film. That said, if you are patient, there is much to like about this film.