Cypher (2002)

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

Trust No One.

---

Genres:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

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 character of Virgil C Dunn would appear to be a reference to the Latin poet Virgil, specifically in Dante's Divine Comedy it was Virgil who was the guide the Hell and Purgatory, as a non-Christian he was unable to enter Heaven.

---

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.

---

Quotes

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

---

Connections

References The Matrix (1999)

User Reviews

Clever, visually tight movie

Cypher was a movie I was looking forward to after I had read some comments here about it's story being like the works Philip K. Dick, an author whose paranoid tales I love to read.

As far as plot twists go Cypher never disappointed me, even though the last plot twist was a bit out there, it had a very cool ending that was very satisfying. The level of suspense was ok, this movie was not a nailbiter but it has really nice atmosphere at times with the opening music theme and the many shady operatives. A thinking man's movie as well, you need to pay attention throughout the movie or you will lose track. No problem in the DVD-age I would say. Overall it was acted very well. Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu definitely deserve movies as good as this, although they don't seem to have found that many in their careers.

Visually the movie is stunning, it is filmed very tight and stylish, with a few well-dosed effects. This movie probably had a relatively modest budget but it looks awesome. Overall this was a very pleasant movie experience.

8 out of 10