The Recruit

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from The Recruit except that I would probably fall for Colin Farrell.

Al Pacino plays, what turns out to be, a very strange CIA recruiter. He recruits James Clayton, a talented computer science graduate played by Farrell, to the CIA training facility (aka The Farm) where he is put through a series of challenging tasks with his fellow recruits. Upon leaving The Farm his first assignment is to follow fellow trainee Layla (Bridget Moynahan) who is accused of being a double agent.

Of course James must fall for Layla and he must question his loyalty to Pacino (who adopts a surrogate father role). Sadly we rarely see anything about the work of the CIA itself – after The Farm we are kept in the character’s sealed world. It is, however, a thriller with a series of twists and turns that makes for a great evening out.

UPDATE: 30 March: Colin Farrell is Man of the Moment.

On this day…