I don't know if I believed in Boyce (Timothy Hutton). I really enjoyed this movie, but the subject (i.e., spies) is fascinating, so they'd have to screw it up pretty badly for me not to. There were some great scenes (e.g., the scene where Boyce blows up at his father had some great shots of the old man (Pat Hingle)... such emotion in those close-ups), but I didn't realize how much the movie was lacking until the last few minutes of Boyce's interrogation; in those moments, seeing the disdain on Hutton's face, I realized I hadn't seen Boyce's progression. Yes, he'd been drinking more. Yes, he'd cut up his stuffed owl with a steak knife. But there wasn't enough to connect that boy watching Watergate unfold - "Do you find this amusing? Hardly." That was an excellent moment - to the unrepentant, and very believable, greasy-haired traitor. If Hutton could've pulled off more of those bright moments, then maybe, but as it was, I was just fascinated by the subject, not dealing with knots in my gut because I felt like I was going down with Boyce.
Lee, on the other hand, was complete. Penn played him well. You knew him... who he was, where he was going, and why.
Fascinating, and long, for an 80's flick: two hours, 13 minutes, I believe, but it certainly didn't drag.
