It's 1998. Martin Schmidt (Peter Sarsgaard), the head of the CIA's Alec Station, maintains a tight hold on intelligence despite directives to share with the FBI. John O'Neill (Jeff Daniels) is his counterpart in the FBI's I-49 unit in New York investigating Al-Qaeda. Ali Soufan (Tahar Rahim) is one of a few fluent Arabic speakers in the FBI who becomes O'Neill's trusted protégé. This follows the competing branches as Al-Qaeda mounts more and more attacks.
There are some eye-opening revelations. I've heard about a few of these issues but it's another thing to see them put together on the screen. There is an obvious slant to the material and some of it is too slanted. Nevertheless, these are compelling characters in a real history thriller. There is a doomed moodiness in the inevitable ending. I find myself tired of the 9/11 rehash at times especially the hijackers' side of the story which added very little in my opinion. It may be necessary but I ended up fast forwarding some of it. Ali's story is compelling. I'm less compelled by John's personal life. Martin is too much of a caricature. This is powerful at times and a needed history lesson.
There are some eye-opening revelations. I've heard about a few of these issues but it's another thing to see them put together on the screen. There is an obvious slant to the material and some of it is too slanted. Nevertheless, these are compelling characters in a real history thriller. There is a doomed moodiness in the inevitable ending. I find myself tired of the 9/11 rehash at times especially the hijackers' side of the story which added very little in my opinion. It may be necessary but I ended up fast forwarding some of it. Ali's story is compelling. I'm less compelled by John's personal life. Martin is too much of a caricature. This is powerful at times and a needed history lesson.