Directed by Roger Donaldson
Screenplay by Roger Towne, Kurt Wimmer and Mitch Glazer

Al Pacino .... Walter Burke
Colin Farrell .... James Clayton
Bridget Moynahan .... Layla
Gabriel Macht .... Zack
Kenneth Mitchell .... Alan
Brian Rhodes .... Psychiatrist
Eugene Lipinski .... Husky Man

Produced by
Jeff Apple .... producer
Gary Barber .... producer
Roger Birnbaum .... producer
Jonathan Glickman .... executive producer
Ric Kidney .... executive producer

Original Music by Klaus Badelt and Ramin Djawadi (additional music)
Cinematography by Stuart Dryburgh
Film Editing by David Rosenbloom
Casting by Robin D. Cook and Marcia Ross
Production Design by Andrew McAlpine
Art Direction by Dennis Davenport
Set Decoration by Peter P. Nicolakakos
Costume Design by Beatrix Aruna Pasztor and Beatrix Pasztor

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality and language.
Runtime: 105 min
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG

In an era when the country?s first line of defense, intelligence, is more important than ever, comes an explosive thriller starring Al Pacino and Colin Farrell that for the first time 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 (Colin Farrell) 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 (AL PACINO) 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 (BRIDGET MOYNAHAN), 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 assignment to root out a mole. As the suspense builds toward a gripping climax, it soon becomes clear that the CIA?s old maxims are true: ?trust no one? and ?nothing is what it seems.?

AL PACINO IS KEY TO THE STORY'S SETUP
The idea of casting Al Pacino was irresistible. ?He?s an icon,? says producer Gary Barber. ?Every moment on screen, you believe in him.?

Director Roger Donaldson says ?The Recruit is a psychological thriller, with twists and turns. You?re never sure who the good guys are, or what?s going to happen next. It?s set in the CIA?s training facility, but at its heart, it?s a performance piece anchored by Al Pacino.?

FATHER AND SON RELATIONSHIP
Producer Gary Barber finds more going on: ?On another level, this is a story about a young man searching for his father. It?s a journey for James to come to terms with his father?s absence.?

Farrell likens James? relationship with Burke to that of a father and son. ?It?s a strained relationship. James sees Burke as a father figure, even though Burke plays him like a fiddle. Burke manipulates him, tricks him, pulls James towards him, and pushes him away. He does all this for a purpose that ends up working.?

STRUGGLE BETWEEN HEAD AND HEART
Bridget Moynahan plays Layla Moore, another CIA recruit. Her impression of the Layla character is, ?Layla is a very intelligent, ambitious, and determined woman. She has a precise goal and really doesn?t plan on anything getting in her way. At the same time, she is very much in touch with her heart. Layla is also sensitive and struggles at time between her heart and her head, a situation that I think a lot of strong-minded and career-oriented women go through.

THE USE OF COLOR
Director of photography Stuart Dryburgh worked with a winter palette of grays and blues for the training sequences,
--giving cold, impersonal yet academic feel.

Then he shifted to shades of orange and dirty yellow for the urban areas,
--giving the film a sense of gritty realism and psychological turmoil.

The climax of the film makes another transition to creepier colors of greens, cyan blues and grays,
--underscoring the idea of sharpness of realization.

Winter grays and blues
in the CIA the training sequences

THE BOTTOM LINE IN THE FILM
I tried my best to catch all the setups in the film, but I am happy to say, I didn't. So, the story was very effective in conveying its message: Things are not always what they seem. This is an important realization. Life has a way of knocking you around in ways you never thought possible.

Sometimes in life, as in the movie, we do figure some things out. Other things, such as James trying to come to terms with his father?s absence, we just never seem to resolve. In either event, things are all to often not what they may appear to be at first glance.

There is a wonderful scripture promise which reads:
We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! --1 Cor. 13:12 Message Translation.

May God speed the day.

Meanwhile, we have engrossing films such as this one to remind us that none of us have arrived yet. And actually that's good. Life is a journey. We learn as we go along. Life is filled with mystery and intrigue. Life is good, even when it seems awful, and a new day dawns every morning, despite our lack of total understanding.

Nothing is what it seems.

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