Jane Moffat Movies
A brilliant young man is tapped to join the elite branch of American intelligence, only to discover how complex and dangerous the job can really be in this suspense-drama. James Clayton (Colin Farrell) recently completed his studies at MIT, where he graduated at the top of his class and is pondering his next move while he works as a bartender at an upscale nightspot. One evening, Clayton is approached by Walter Burke (Al Pacino), a recruiter for the Central Intelligence Agency, who describes himself as "a scary judge of talent" and believes Clayton is just the sort of man the CIA is looking for. Clayton, who has little interest in an ordinary nine-to-five career and suspects his father (whom Burke claims to have known) worked for the Agency, accepts the offer and is soon sent to the CIA's secret training camp. It soon becomes obvious that Burke's intuition has not failed him; Clayton is smart, fast on his feet, a crack shot, and possesses a very agile mind. In training, Clayton notices a few things, most notably one of his fellow students, Layla (Bridget Moynahan), a beautiful woman whose skills equal his own. Clayton becomes quite infatuated with Layla, and after a fashion the attraction appears to be mutual, but Clayton has to keep in mind Burke's dictum that "nothing is as it seems," especially when Clayton is given a special assignment -- find the mole within the Agency's training program who is actually feeding information to America's enemies. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, (more)
- 1997
One of the most controversial (and widely-reported) stories of the early 1990s is vividly dramatized in this made-for-cable movie. In 1992, Allen Schindler, a navy sailor serving on the USS Belleau Wood, is savagely beaten to death while on leave in Japan. Allen's grieving mother Dorothy Hajdys-Holman (Bonnie Bedelia) becomes even more distraught when the representatives of the United States Navy refuse to provide her with full details on her son's murder. Then comes the ultimate shock: A newspaper reporter informs Dorothy that her son was gay, and that this might have been the reason he was killed. But if the Navy has anything to say about it, the entire matter will be swept under the rug, with Dorothy remaining as much in the dark as the rest of the world: A deal has already been cut with one of Allen's killers, who after a secret court-martial is given what amounts to a legal slap on the wrist. Radicalized by the incident and its aftermath, Dorothy joins forces with a crusading journalist to force the Navy to reveal the whole truth--and she isn't about to let the court-martial of Allen's other assailant to be conducted behind closed doors! The upshot of this high-profile case was the creation of the Service Members' Legal Defense Network, assuring that no branch of the armed services would ever again be able to conspire to cover up a major crime. Its title selected by the real-life Dorothy Hajdys-Holman, who served as the film's technical advisor (not surprisingly, the Navy refused to cooperate at all), Any Mother's Son made its Lifetime cable network debut on August 11, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
