Overly Long Yet Intriguing Film---Worth the Price of a Ticket

Rating: Null/10 (15 January 2007)

Edward Wilson believes in America--a patriot. He has been involved with the intelligence community since the day his father shot himself as a traitor. Edward was six. Years later, he is married to Margret Ann Russell after ending a tumultuous affair with a deaf woman. He catches the eye of Gen. Bill Sullivan, who appoints Edward as chief director of a new intelligence agency. CIA.
This movie is incredibly detailed. While non totally accurate in terms of historical events, it does show a commitment to history. The characters are not the real people--simply characters based on real people. I was surprised by how intrigued by this movie I was. The plot was confusing yet compelling. There were some genuine twists in the story, most of which caught me off guard. You truly cannot trust anybody.
This picture boasts the most ensemble cast in a film since...well, any film. Chalk full of famous actors like Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, William Hurt, Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin, Billy Crudup, Michael Gambon, and even a small cameo from Joe Pesci, they all give great performances, as usual. Matt Damon effortlessly always plays the serious tough guy who is committed to his job. Angelina Jolie plays the distraught wife with surprising believability. William Hurt, Crudup, De Niro, Gambon, Pesci--all of them play great enigmatic people that perform wonderfully.
I was surprised when I found out that Robert De Niro would be at the helm of the movie. I didn't know if he would work well as a director--but I was surprised. He delivers the story across pretty effectively, although at the beginning it is slightly jumbled and takes a while to get a feel of what's going on. He brings each twist across that leaves you genuinely surprised (most of the time).
The cinematography was pretty good, although kind of generic. It comes across as a period film with the choice of colors and color palette in the stock.
I was a little irked about the length of the film, though. About ten minutes could've been cut, although I really can't say which ten minutes, because almost every scene is essential to the development of the plot.
Overall, an intriguing film, but a little too long for my tastes. But it was worth the ticket and if it's worth it, that's all that matters.