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 | secret | mission | 

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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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Persian Russian

Release Date:

31 January 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Farm

Filming Locations:

Arlington, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$46,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,302,063, 2 February 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$52,802,140, 6 June 2013

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$101,191,884, 6 June 2013

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "abandoned warehouse" where the final sequence in the film takes place is the same set where Chicago (2002)'s prison scenes were filmed.

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Goofs

When James is waiting for Layla to come out of CIA with the stolen software, he parks his truck on a lower level just next to the entrance. a) There is no such lower level near the CIA Langley entrance (even at a far away distance). b) If you park or mistakenly drive into the area near the entrance, in no time you would see gun trotting cops knocking on your windshield.

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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 Film Geek (2005)

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Soundtracks

Sad Reflections
Written and Performed by Bob Foster (as Lee Chu Kiong)
Courtesy of Associated Production Music LLC
Published by KPM Music (uncredited)

User Reviews

Good spy action thriller with passable performances...

1st watched 6/28/2003 - 6 out of 10(Dir-Roger Donaldson): Good spy action thriller with passable performances by the leads Farrell, Pacino and Moynahan. This isn't quite on-the-edge-of-your-seat material but there is a lot of good information given to you about the CIA to almost make it a how-to type of film at least in the first half. The 2nd half wonders more into the action-thriller genre but always keeps you guessing. Farrell is recruited by a CIA agent to be trained as one and we get to see how they are trained in a place called the `Farm', which is a special school for the CIA. Pacino's character constantly is stressing to Farrell and the audience that not everything is as it seems. This becomes kind of the theme throughout the movie as the viewer tries to figure out what's real and what's not. This is quite a challenge in this film considering that being deceptive is part of the job of the CIA agent. Another statement made by Pacino's character is that `everything is a test' also helps in the confusion of the reality issue. After Farrell goes thru the `Farm', he is assigned a special case to investigate someone that he seems to care(Moynahan) about, as a possible double-agent. The truth is twisted a couple of times near the end of the film but we're able to figure it out when it's all over. The 1st half and the 2nd half of this movie could actually each stand alone and that's what weakens the picture is the attempt to put both the CIA drama and the action-thriller together. All in all this is good viewing but could have been much better but it's apparent that the makers were ok with just ok, and that's ok.