Summary
Edward Wilson, the only witness to his father's suicide and member of the Skull and Bones Society while a student at Yale, is a morally upright young man who values honor and discretion, qualities that help him to be recruited for a career in the newly founded OSS. His dedication to his work does not come without a price though, leading him to sacrifice his ideals and eventually his family.
Cast
Matt Damon
Edward Bell Wilson
Angelina Jolie
Margaret Ann Russell
Alec Baldwin
Sam Murach
Tammy Blanchard
Laura
Billy Crudup
Arch Cummings
Robert De Niro
Bill Sullivan
Keir Dullea
Senator John Russell, Sr.
Michael Gambon
Dr. Fredericks
Martina Gedeck
Hanna Schiller
William Hurt
Philip Allen
Timothy Hutton
Thomas Wilson
Mark Ivanir
Valentin Mironov #2
Gabriel Macht
John Russell, Jr.
Lee Pace
Richard Hayes
Joe Pesci
Joseph Palmi
Eddie Redmayne
Edward Wilson Jr.
John Sessions
Valentin Mironov #1/Yuri Modin
John Turturro
Raymond Brocco
Yelena Shmulenson
Dollar Woman
Jack Martin
Dollar Little Boy
Anne-Marie Cusson
Philip Allen's Secretary
Robert Bermudez Cordell
Bay of Pigs Voiceover (voice)
David Crommett
Spanish Translator
Michael Arden
Pinafore Actor
Justin Bohon
Pinafore Actor
Justin Daniel
Pinafore Actor
Michael Flanigan
Pinafore Actor
John Hill
Pinafore Actor
Will Reynolds
Pinafore Actor
Michael Seelbach
Pinafore Actor
Ryan Michael Shaw
Pinafore Actor
Stephen Powell
HMS Pinafore Singer
Henry Gummer
Bonesman / Boatswain
Gregory Marcel
Dancing Skeleton
Austin Williams
Young Edward Wilson
Sophie Sutton
Connie Wilson
Lars Gerhard
Mr. Haupt
Tessa Kim
Mr. Haupt's Translator
Peter Kybart
Dr. Manheim
Rob Barnes
Man at Jazz Club
Lee Bryant
Mrs. John Russell, Sr.
Laila Robins
Toddy Allen
Redman Maxfield
Older Bonesman 1940
John C. Whitehead
Reverend Collins
Jeff Skowron
Deer Island Crooner 1940
Oleg Shtefanko
Ulysses / Stas Siyanko
Meredith Deacon
John Russell, Jr.'s Girlfriend
Josh Casaubon
Army Man 1940
Christopher Evan Welch
Photography Technical Officer
Tuc Watkins
Sound Technical Officer
Leonard Logsdail
Tailor
Eric Lindh
Tailor Shop Guard
Trace Taylor
Cryptographer
Amanda Barron
Cryptographer
James Faulkner
Lord Cooper
Robert Ian Mackenzie
Cambridge Club Butler
Dieter Riesle
Herr Franck
Sándor Técsy
Sasha, Ulysses' Aide
Tommy Nelson
Edward Wilson Jr. - Age 6-7
Greg Plitt
Guard with Sullivan
Marcos Cohen
Dr. Ibanez
Jeff Applegate
Michael Johnson
Jon Monett
CIA Insect Man
Sandee Conrad
Edward's Secretary
Jonathan Dokuchitz
Husband Dinner Guest
Susan Haskell
Wife Dinner Guest
Sjoerd Dejong
Santa Claus
Neal Huff
Teletype Operations Officer
Jason Butler Harner
Teletype Communications Officer
Amy Wright
Safe House Operations Officer
Matthew Humphreys
Cherry Orchard Actor
Karron Graves
Cherry Orchard Actress
Robert C. Kirk
Laura's Taxi Driver
Reathel Bean
'Dame' Bonesman
Jerry Coyle
'Dame' Bonesman
Wally Dunn
'Dame' Bonesman
Roger Rathburn
'Dame' Bonesman
Michael Melvoin
Piano Player
Glenn Kalison
Telephone Operations Officer
John Knox
Technical Service Officer
Benjamin Eakeley
Bonesman 1960
Gino Cafarelli
Palmi's Bodyguard
Tommy DeVito
Palmi's Bodyguard
Stefanie Nava
Tina Palmi
Isabella Cimato
Palmi's Granddaughter
Jimmy Marchese
Palmi's Grandson
Robert Prescott
Bonesman MC 1961
Bill McHugh
Reverend Christiansen
Ann Hampton Callaway
1961 Deer Island Singer
Christopher Druckman
FBI Agent
Liya Kebede
Miriam
John Henry
Philip Allen's Driver
Josh Pence
Bonesman
Dave Payton
College Student (uncredited)
Vladislav Kozlov
Executioner (uncredited)
Crew
Director
Robert De Niro
Writer
Eric Roth
Reviews
Geronimo1967
May 19, 2024
6
So rather than spend a fortune on special disguises, plastic surgery and prosthetics, the secret of being a successful counter-intelligence agent is loads of Bryclream, a pair of thick-set spectacles and a fawn, knee-length, mac. That's what puts the c into overt! That theory sort works for Matt Damon here with this lacklustre drama set around the time in world history when the American government realised they needed to gather intelligence about whom their potential 20th century foes might be. He is "Edward Wilson", who after being sworn into some top secret masonic style of society at school finds himself learning the arts of espionage in a wartorn London, then to Berlin, the back to Uncle Sam where his accrued skills leave him well placed to root out Nazi sympathisers and Soviet agents and defectors. Initially he is full of the joys of spring, his task a patriotic duty. Increasingly, though, as his hastily arranged marriage to "Margaret" (the sparingly used Angelina Jolie) starts to suffer, cynicism creeps in and what semblance of decency he had begins to become subsumed into a determination to get results - regardless of the methods frequently employed by his sidekick "Ray" (John Turturro). Robert De Niro clearly has pulling power with his directorial promise, but most of the supporting cast add little to this muddling drama that trips over it's own cloak way too often looking for the dagger. Quite where Billy Crudup's accent came from is anyone's guess and the plodding nature of this rather wearisome, if stylishly filmed, drama makes it quite a slog to sit through. It's all just a bit too self-indulgent and presents us with a rather ungracious and arrogant side to an American superiority complex that I found a bit dull.
