Exquisitely well done, depressing, spy/counter-spy story

Rating: 5/10 (25 April 2007)

For the masterful casting and locations, the atmospheric settings and the spot-on performances, I would have rated this gem a sound 10. But the subject matter, espionage and counter-espionage during WWII and the post-war creation of the CIA from the wartime OSS and what happens to the families who live with secrets - ultimately in every area of their lives - is wrenchingly depressing, making my vote a 5. I grew up in Washington, DC during the 50's and found this film seamless in its portrayal of sets, costumes and social mores of the time. I was completely transported to the world view in which I grew up. While my family was nowhere near the government policy or social position portrayed here, the 'safe and sane' world of the fifties, helmed by war hero President Eisenhower, was a time of wholesale family and social secrets and I can attest to the Edward Jr.'s sense of bottomless, amorphous fear about the things unsaid but hinted at when he accompanied his parents into the mysterious world of grown-ups.