Nothing is what it seems in Roger Donaldson’s “The Recruit,” starring Al Pacino and Colin Farrell.
Imaginative intelligence gadgets, high-tech computer programs and car chases keep you on the edge of your the seat, but the plot of this CIA thriller will keep you guessing until the final credits roll.
And then there’s the master composer, making it all click.
Pacino plays aging CIA recruiter Walter Burke, who convinces college graduate James Clayton (Farrell) to join the agency. Burke, a self-proclaimed judge of talent, first encounters the up-and-coming Clayton at an MIT job fair. The former cryptology student wows potential employers with his newly designed wonder program, but Burke encourages him to pass up a job with Dell and take a shot at international espionage.
Clayton, eager to learn about his father’s life and death, agrees to enlist.
The story heats up when Clayton falls for fellow trainee Layla (Bridget Moynahan). The relationship is complicated as Clayton must navigate between conflicting interests — his feelings for the girl and the desire to impress Burke.
Burke’s world is too black and white to accept romance. According to Burke, being an agent requires an unquestioned belief in good over evil and right over wrong. Accomplishments won’t bring fame, money or sex, and screw-ups cause isolation, torture or death.
Knowledge is power, but emotions are nothing more than devices of manipulation. Since deception is everywhere, trust can be either an asset or a curse. The greatest threat to security comes from within CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., says Burke, hinting to both the plot and real life politics.
“Don’t you understand the complexity of this thing?” Pacino asks Farrell at one point, summing up the movie’s theme.
Unfortunately, Farrell’s character is so flat that it’s hard to care. He is cold and standoffish, making it difficult to connect with his stoic character.
Farrell does his best work when sharing the screen with Moynahan. The couple sizzles with on-screen chemistry, pairing Layla’s confident charm with James’ amusing persistence. But whereas Moynahan’s true character emerges slowly, Farrell remains guarded throughout.
Pacino, on the other hand, emits plenty of energy. He shows once again — as he did in “Scent of a Woman,” “The Devil’s Advocate” and “Donnie Brasco” — that nobody does the eccentric mentor thing quite like Pacino. The puckish puppeteer sits above the high jinx, dictating what happens next.
But even Pacino’s charm isn’t enough to keep audiences fully afloat. Luckily Donaldson rejuvenates the viewer with pungent portrayals of life inside the walls of Langley.
Even when Donaldson gives audiences an inside view of the CIA, “The Recruit” remains opaque. The premise is often difficult to decipher and the fuzzy line between friend and foe, truth and deception, becomes as crucial as the actual characters.
In the end, only one thing is clear: While the movie misleads, confuses and deceives, it does not disappoint. nyou
