The Recruit (2003)

A brilliant young CIA trainee is asked by his mentor to help find a mole in the Agency.

Director:

Roger Donaldson

Writers:

Roger Towne, Kurt Wimmer

Stars:

Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, Bridget Moynahan

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Al Pacino	...	Walter Burke
Colin Farrell	...	James Douglas Clayton
Bridget Moynahan	...	Layla Moore
Gabriel Macht	...	Zack
Kenneth Mitchell	...	Alan (as Ken Mitchell)
Mike Realba	...	Ronnie Gibson
Ron Lea	...	Bill Rudolph, Dell Rep
Karl Pruner	...	Dennis Slayne
Jeanie Calleja	...	Co-Ed #1
Jenny Cooper	...	Blonde with Cell Phone (as Jennifer Levine)
Angelo Tsarouchas	...	Cab Driver
Veronica Hurnick	...	Polygraph Interrogator (as Veronika Hurnik)
Eugene Lipinski	...	Husky Man
Mark Ellis	...	Test Instructor
Richard Fitzpatrick	...	Rob Stevens

Storyline

In an era when the country's first line of defense, intelligence, is more important than ever, this story opens the CIA's infamous closed doors and gives an insider's view into the Agency: how trainees are recruited, how they are prepared for the spy game, and what they learn to survive. James Clayton might not have the attitude of a typical recruit, but he is one of the smartest graduating seniors in the country - and he's just the person that Walter Burke wants in the Agency. James regards the CIA's mission as an intriguing alternative to an ordinary life, but before he becomes an Ops Officer, James has to survive the Agency's secret training ground, where green recruits are molded into seasoned veterans. As Burke teaches him the ropes and the rules of the game, James quickly rises through the ranks and falls for Layla, one of his fellow recruits. But just when James starts to question his role and his cat-and-mouse relationship with his mentor, Burke taps him for a special ...

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Plot Keywords:

cia | recruit | training | jefferson memorial | smithsonian institute | 

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Taglines:

Trust. Betrayal. Deception. In the C.I.A. nothing is what it seems.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The glass-encased roll of honor that Clayton looks at in his first day as a CIA career trainee includes the names of Deryck Blake, Andrew McAlpine and Dennis Davenport: respectively the property master, production designer and art director on this film.

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Goofs

During the title sequence of the movie a website is shown where Clayton posts information about his missing father. If you look at the address bar of Opera's browser, it says "file:///vault1/projects/recruit/design/images/sourceimages/fakesite/htmled_site/page_02.html" - clearly a local reference to the "fake" website.

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Quotes

Walter Burke: Very dramatic, James.
James Clayton: I want to talk, can we talk?
Walter Burke: Yeah.
James Clayton: Where are you?
Walter Burke: Well, you know the phone booth you're calling from?
James Clayton: Yeah.
Walter Burke: Turn around.

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Crazy Credits

Girl in the window - Lorrie Barth

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Alternate Versions

The film's DVD release presented the film open-matte, at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, meaning there was more picture information visible in the top and bottom of the frame than in normal theaters and on Blu-ray.

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Connections

Referenced in Lost Connection (2011)

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Soundtracks

Too Little Too Late
Written by Daniel Estrin, Douglas Robb (as Doug Robb), Chris Hesse and Markku Lappalainen
Performed by Hoobastank
Courtesy of Island Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Deja view

Another in a long line of thrillers that aren't as smart as they think they are, populated with supposedly ultra-smart characters doing really stupid things.

"Everything is a test." "Nothing is what it seems." Doesn't anyone ever listen? And what sort of feeble recruit cracks under interrogation after a few personal questions about sex? If these are the types of people the CIA enlists, we're all doomed.

I'd hoped for more from the Pacino/Farrell interplay which is cute but uninspired, given their talents. The disappointment continues as Farrell and Moynahan generate about as much spark as a match under a cold shower.

Add that to a boring plotline about a dead father and a pointless car chase and it all adds up to a little more than a DTV potboiler with bigger names.

Details

Country:

USA Switzerland

Language:

English Persian Russian

Release Date:

31 January 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Farm

Filming Locations:

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$46,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,302,063, 2 February 2003

Gross USA:

$52,802,140

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$101,191,884

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Epsilon Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1