The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

John Schlesinger

Writers:

Robert Lindsey (book)
Steven Zaillian (writer)

Release Date:

25 January 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They came from the best of families...They became the two most dangerous political criminals in the world. [Australia Video]

Plot:

The true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Walk In Spy | Childhood Friend | Drugs | Heroin

Cast

Timothy Hutton	...	Christopher Boyce
Sean Penn	...	Daulton Lee
Pat Hingle	...	Mr. Charlie Boyce
Joyce Van Patten	...	Mrs. Boyce
Rob Reed	...	Boyce Child
Rob Newell	...	Boyce Child
Karen West	...	Boyce Child
Art Camacho	...	Boyce Child
Annie Kozuch	...	Boyce Child
Richard Dysart	...	Dr. Lee
Priscilla Pointer	...	Mrs. Lee
Chris Makepeace	...	David Lee
Dorian Harewood	...	Gene
Mady Kaplan	...	Laurie
Macon McCalman	...	Larry Rogers

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:R (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hemdale Film

Trivia:

The company that Christopher Boyce worked for in real life was TRW, portrayed as "RTX" in the movie.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the beginning of Falcon and The Snowman, Dalton (Sean Penn) is talking to his attorney in a conference room. During the conference, Dalton's attorney refers to him as "Sean" during a heated discussion. The attorney says, "Sean" in a stern, attention getting voice.

Quotes:

[Alex, a KGB agent, informs Christopher and Dalton that they are not patriots, but paid traitors]
Alex: The moment you accepted money, you became professionals. It's just beginning.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Knight Rider: The Wrong Crowd (#4.5)" (1985)

Soundtrack:

MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS

Traitor is such a harsh word.

Set in the 1970s Los Angeles, Christopher Boyce has just dropped out of seminary school and returned back home were his father gets him a job where he monitors intelligence documents. His old friend Daulton Lee is a ratty cock drug-dealer, and gets caught in a set-up and must choose between becoming a narc or facing a long stint in prison. When up on bail, he jumps and heads to Mexico City. Chris offers Lee in a partnership to be his messenger to sell secret papers to the Soviet Union embassy in Mexico City, because of the disgrace he feels about the US Government's control over weaker countries to their own gain. But over time the two begin to clash with their motivations and find themselves in something bigger then they had originally intended.

Director John Schlesinger has spun out such films like the respectable "Midnight Cowboy", "Marathon Man", "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Day of The Locust". While "The Falcon and the Snowman" might not be held up that high, there's no question that this sombre espionage drama (inspired by a true incident) is an unjustly overlooked character portrait. Everything about it, is quite a subdued affair with no real grandeur qualities hitting a massive mark. The driving factor of the film has got to be the admirably versatile lead performances of Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn as the two ambitious young lads Chris and Daulton. Penn is especially good with his uneasy intensity, which works well off Hutton's superbly cool-and-collected turn. What starts off as easy, we watch the situation gradually crumble, as the two amateurs find themselves really out of their league. The strongly detailed and symbolic (predatory behaviour) plot mainly centres on the pair's relationship and that of their reasoning's for their actions, which eventually shows us the knotty developments that led to their downfall. The plan opens up like a wound to never properly heal, due to Daulton's drug addiction, which really makes him go off the rails and leaves Chris to pick up all the slack. The searing political aspect is there, but it focus on the themes of idealism (Boyce) and greed (Lee) to get its point across. Both don't mix and results show. Suspense is justified through its stimulating pot-boiling script and character interactions then that of any visual gimmicks. Action is very little, but still there's a pressure induced style to Schlesinger's assured and realistically dark 'n' gritty direction. Pacing is mostly well handled, although some sequences do seem to wallow on for too long, but however it grips you as it plays on its authentically paranoid tone to slowly build up to an exploding tight latter end. Adeptly fleshed into the technical production is an airily harrowing music score and professionally poignant cinematography. The supporting cast are exceptionally fine with Pat Hingle, Lori Singer, David Suchet, Boris Leskin, Jerry Hardin and Joyce Van Patten. Also look out for Michael Ironside in a tiny part as a FBI agent.

A mostly outstanding spy-film that benefits largely from talented lead performances and by not playing the usual stakes. It's more an emotional ride, then a complex one of twists. Recommended.