Brainstorm (2002)
"Cypher" (original title)

An unsuspecting, disenchanted man finds himself working as a spy in the dangerous, high-stakes world of corporate espionage. Quickly getting way over-his-head, he teams up with a mysterious femme fatale.

Director:

Vincenzo Natali

Writer:

Brian King

Stars:

Jeremy Northam, Lucy Liu, Nigel Bennett

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Northam	...	Morgan Sullivan
Lucy Liu	...	Rita Foster
Nigel Bennett	...	Finster
Timothy Webber	...	Callaway
David Hewlett	...	Virgil C. Dunn
Kari Matchett	...	Diane
Kristina Nicoll	...	Amy
Joseph Scoren	...	Digicorp Technician #1
Stephen Brown	...	Digicorp Technician #2
Arnold Pinnock	...	Pilot In Mensroom
Jocelyn Snowdon	...	Stewardess to Buffalo
Boyd Banks	...	Fred Garfield
Steve Jackson	...	Waiter Buffalo
Dan Duran	...	Buffalo Speaker #1
Valerie Buhagiar	...	Buffalo Speaker #2

Storyline

Hoping for a more exciting life than the suburban drawl he currently inhabits, nerdy salary man Morgan Sullivan takes a job as an industrial spy at Digicorp, a global computer corporation. Digicorp assigns him the duty of flying to various conventions around America, recording the speeches that are made. But when Sullivan meets a mysterious woman he begins to realize that his job may not be what it seems, as he descends into a dark underworld of brainwashing and struggles to maintain his own identity.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | corporate espionage | future | brainwashing | femme fatale | 

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Taglines:

Never forget who you are.

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Genres:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 2003 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Company Man

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pandora Cinema, Miramax Films, Gaylord Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The phone number encoded using Job 13:17 is 436-726-3993 uses the apparently unused area code 436. It also uses 726 for the exchange code, rather than the 555 usually used in most movies fictional works.

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Goofs

When Morgan is given his fake California ID, it shows a Blue and a Red Bar below the name and address. The Blue line is to denote a provisional license for those under 18 at the time of issuance, and the red bar is to denote what year the ID holder turns 21. Morgan appears to be in his 30's, so there would be no colored bars on his ID.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sunways Security Guard: You planning a vacation, Mr. Sullivan?
Morgan Sullivan: No. No, just some reading to pass the time.

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Connections

References A Clockwork Orange (1971)

User Reviews

Terrific sci-fi thriller

When The Matrix appeared in 1999 and questioned existence and identity, it was expected that a lot of movies would use it as inspiration. That didn't really happen, surprisingly, and it took till 2002 for a movie of similar theme to appear. But to say Cypher is a clone would be to its discredit.

The story is of a Morgan Sullivan, who applies for a job with a high-flying techno-company called Digicorp. His job is to be a spy and gain information about a rival company, while under an assumed and false identity. His home-life is perfectly normal but he has to lie to his wife about what he's actually doing. However, things start to take conspirital turns and before he knows what's going on, he starts to question who he actually is. This is not helped by a strange woman who turns up...

Twists and turns at every direction keep you absolutely fascinated, and at no point does anything ever seem contrived or unbelievable.

It's an enthralling journey through a not-too-distant future, and with good acting all round will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Highly recommended.