Major plot hole and cheesy politics tarnish an otherwise great effort

Rating: 7/10 (3 July 2011)

Watching this movie was an unusual experience. I began by expecting it to be a long Twilight Zone episode. Then I was turned off by what seemed to be a contrived and overly artsy narrative, then I got confused. By the time I started coming out confusion, about three quarters into the movie, I was at the edge of my seat. And through it all, I was mesmerized by Diane Krueger.
This is an ambitious movie that's trying to be an old-fashioned, hard-hitting, thought-provoking, espionage thriller. And it comes damn close to hitting its mark. Unfortunately, it falters on two key points.
First, it is impossible to forge an identity as a university faculty. And it's even more impossible (?) to fake a university. The story loses all of its credibility on this point alone.
Second, it all at the end gets reduced to a reactionary Hollywood left-wing piece of hysterical propaganda aimed at the evil Corporate America. Enough already!
This director has a real talent for bringing out the charisma in his actors. Diane Krueger and Bruno Ganz stood out for me, but I was impressed with everyone's performance. They were all natural, believable, and likable.
At the very least, I hope this kicks off a trend in Hollywood that will replace this silly infatuation with sequels, remakes, and reboots.
Thanks for the attempt.