Bob DeNiro doesn’t direct many movies, but boy did he pick some kind of subject matter for this, his second effort! It’s the story of James Jesus Angleton, the founder and ‘mother’ of the CIA and probably the most famous Western spy of the 20th Century.
Though not hugely cinematic, DeNiro’s subtle, slow-building and formulaic film covers the history of what is essentially a private army as it grew out of Yale University’s Skull and Bones society. Shut down by Truman in 1945 for gaining too much power, it re-emerged with Eisenhower and proceeded to take over the USA during the 1950s.
This is riveting viewing, with everyone’s favourite dough-faced everyman Matt Damon excellent as always in the lead role. A truly terrifying film that every American should see.
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