set in the 1970s los angeles and christopher boyce have just drop out of seminary school and return back home be his father get him a job where he monitor intelligence document . his old friend daulton lee be a ratty cock drug dealer and and get catch in a set up and must choose between become a narc or face a long stint in prison . when up on bail and he jump and head to mexico city . chris offer lee in a partnership to be his messenger to sell secret paper to the soviet union embassy in mexico city and because of the disgrace he feel about the u government control over weak country to their own gain . but over time the two begin to clash with their motivation and find themselves in something big then they have originally intend . director john schlesinger have spin out such film like the respectable midnight cowboy and marathon man and sunday bloody sunday and day of the locust . while the falcon and the snowman might not be hold up that high and there no question that this sombre espionage drama ( inspire by a true incident ) be an unjustly overlook character portrait . everything about it and be quite a subdue affair with no real grandeur quality hit a massive mark . the driving factor of the film have get to be the admirably versatile lead performance of timothy hutton and sean penn a the two ambitious young lad chris and daulton . penn be especially good with his uneasy intensity and which work well off hutton superbly cool and collected turn . what start off a easy and we watch the situation gradually crumble and a the two amateur find themselves really out of their league . the strongly detailed and symbolic ( predatory behaviour ) plot mainly centre on the pair relationship and that of their reasoning for their action and which eventually show u the knotty development that lead to their downfall . the plan open up like a wound to never properly heal and due to daulton drug addiction and which really make him go off the rail and leave chris to pick up all the slack . the sear political aspect be there and but it focus on the theme of idealism ( boyce ) and greed ( lee ) to get it point across . both do not mix and result show . suspense be justify through it stimulating pot boil script and character interaction then that of any visual gimmick . action be very little and but still there a pressure induce style to schlesinger assured and realistically dark n gritty direction . pacing be mostly well handle and although some sequence do seem to wallow on for too long and but however it grip you a it play on it authentically paranoid tone to slowly build up to an explode tight latter end . adeptly flesh into the technical production be an airily harrow music score and professionally poignant cinematography . the support cast be exceptionally fine with pat hingle and lori singer and david suchet and boris leskin and jerry hardin and joyce van patten . also look out for michael ironside in a tiny part a a fbi agent . a mostly outstanding spy film that benefit largely from talented lead performance and by not play the usual stake . it more an emotional ride and then a complex one of twist . recommend .