John Schlesinger directs Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn and Pat Hingle in this true tale of an intelligence analyst and his drug dealing childhood friend who start selling secrets to the Ruskies. 

Solid acting gets lost in a meandering repetitive plot. The second hour of mistrust and bumbling attempts to recontact the Russians feels like it is stuck in an interminable loop. Maybe that is how history unspooled but a thriller should surely be a bit more targeted.

4