RELEASED JUNE 7th, 2002
BO SO FAR: 40.4 milliion
The Embassy- Rated R- Starring Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Holly, Peter Coyote, Gary Oldman, Alan Cumming, Thomas Jane, and Hal Holbrook. Directed By Andrew Davis.
In the world of high stakes politics, 24 hours can be the difference between life and death. CIA agent Mona Riker (Berry) is the sole survivor of a terrorist bombing at the US Embassy in Cairo. After being flown home, she learns that what happened at the embassy may not have gone unwarned. Is the US government preparing for a war that doesnt exist? Mona joins her father, James (Freeman) in a hunt for the truth. Did the US bomb their own embassy?
REVIEWS:
"you have something here."--- Cassy
"Very good."--- Jack Traven
Characters:
CIA Agent Mona Riker- Halle Berry
CIA Agent Jeff Reynolds- Thomas Jane
CIA Agent Barry Howe- Gary Oldman
Detective James Riker- Morgan Freeman
President Cooper- Peter Coyote
Jules Brown- Lauren Holly
Harry Lee- Alan Cumming
Deputy Director Wallace- Hal Holbrook
CAIRO, EGYPT---- 12:31 PM
The movie opens on CIA Agent Mona Riker (Halle Berry) and CIA Agent Jeff Reynolds (Thomas Jane) eating lunch across the street from the American Embassy. They finish, get up and go across the street. Mona forgot her coat and runs back across the street to get it. The Embassy explodes.
---Opening Credits
Chamber Pictures Presents
A Mac The Movieguy Production
Halle Berry
Morgan Freeman
Gary Oldman
The Embassy
Thomas Jane
Alan Cumming
Peter Coyote
Lauren Holly
Hal Holbrook
WASHINGTON D.C.----12:47 PM
President Cooper (Peter Coyote), Deputy Director Wallace (Hal Holbrook) and CIA Agent Barry Howe (Gary Oldman) are the recognizable faces in a small room of the Pentagon. Information is coming in that the embassy in Cairo was destroyed as a result of a terrorist attack. All who worked in the building are feared dead.
CAIRO--- 12:55 PM
Mona is lying on the sidewalk. A cloud of dust is still filling the air and making it hard to see. Mona sits up and looks across to where Jeff was standing. She cant see him. Some confused locals stumble around mumbling things in a language we cannot understand. Mona stands up and moves toward the building.
WASHINGTON--- 2:35 PM
Director Wallace informs the President that so far one survivor remains and that 33 bodies have been recovered including that of the ambassador and two NSA agents. Jeffs body has yet to be found.
The President is furious and demands answers. A bunch of people start to scramble around and Director Wallace leans to the President and whispers "things are in motion." Barry informs Director Wallace that Mona is on her way home.
BALTIMORE, MD--- 5:34 PM
Detective James Riker (Morgan Freeman) is sitting at his desk. He receives a phone call from Mona asking him if he can pick her up at the airport at 10:00. James pretty much gets ready to do so.
WASHINGTON--- 7:10 PM
Barry is in his office when he receives a call from a mysterious Harry Lee (Alan Cumming) who informs him that the embassy bombing wasnt an act of terrorists and he should look closely at his own boss. Barry laughs it off and hangs up the phone. Director Wallace walks in right after and asks him if everything is alright. Director Wallace sits down and has a talk with Barry.
WASHINGTON--- 10:08 PM
James is waiting for Mona in his car at the Air Force base. Barry is in his car doing the same. When Mona steps off the plane they both get out of the car and look at each other. Barry approaches Mona first. He introduces himself. Mona shrugs him off and hugs her father. Barry informs her that she must come to the Pentagon--- the President wants to meet with her. Mona says "not without my father" and Barry grants him permission to come along.
WASHINGTON--- 10:58 PM
Barry, James, and Mona walk into a room that this time only has President Cooper and Director Wallace and a secret service agent in it. They all introduce each other, Director Wallace asks James to wait outside, and he does so.
They go into a lengthy sequence that pretty much tells us what we already know. The casualties, the damage, the bomb, and what theyre looking for from Mona--- complete cooperation. Mona assures them that shell help in any way possible. The President shakes Monas hand, makes eye contact, and the scene ends.
WASHINGTON--- 11:34 PM
Mona, James, and Barry are sitting in Barrys office. She inquires about Jeff. Barry tells her a story about when he was working with Jeff and how resourceful he was. He assures her that hes probably fine.
Mona steps outside to find the bathroom and overhears Director Wallace talking to someone and saying "now weve got them right where we want them." We then hear another voice say "whats next?" Wallace responds "Revenge." Mona gasps and walks back in. She accuses Barry of knowing and causing the whole thing. James stands up, trying to calm her down but she demands answers. Barry stands up and coldly says "I thought you promised complete cooperation." Mona slaps Barry and walks out.
WASHINGTON--- 12:03 AM
James and Mona are getting out of a taxi in front of her house. Its raining. They run up to the front door and unlock it. A bolt of lightning reveals to them and us that Harry Lee is sitting on her couch, waiting for her arrival along with Monas best friend Jules Brown.
Mona is shocked to see both of them. Jules gets up and runs (sobbing) and hugs her. Harry asks the trio to sit down and they do. Its obvious by now that Harry is not a threatening person and that Jules was used somehow to get him inside.
Harry reveals that he knew about the bombing at Cairo. Back when he was an intern for the Pentagon, he stumbled across a file on the Embassy at Cairo. The file was empty. The plans, layout, and history should have been in there, but they werent. Most files have at least 100 pages in them and the fact that this one was empty made Harry suspicious.
After further investigation, he overheard a conversation between Barry and the Director and someone else about the bombing. The other person was going to be on site to set off the bomb. In other words, the CIA knowingly bombed their embassy.
Mona finds most of this information shocking, but remembers something. The only other CIA agent there was Jeff, her partner and best friend. Why wouldnt he have told her?
Harry tells her that she has to go back and stop the President from bombing Egypt and starting a war. Jules offers to drive them.
WASHINGTON--- 1:14 AM
Jules pulls up in front of the Pentagon and Mona hands her ID to the guard on duty. He motions her in.
WASHINGTON--- 1:38 AM
Mona is walking through the hallway by herself. Barry steps out of his office and greets Mona as if nothing had happened. She asks him "When you asked Jeff to trigger the bomb, was he at least hesitant about it?" Barry looks like hes been hit with a ton of bricks. Mona pulls a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Cairo Project. Expected loss of life, 50 plus people. Goal bombing the Egypt and Iraq." Barry yanks the piece of paper from her hands, crumples it up, and throws it away.
Mona pushes Barry back into his office and tries to give him a guilt trip about doing the right thing. "If you dont stop this, millions of innocent people are going to die." Barry is trying to get her out of the office when there is a knock on the door. "Shit." Barry looks upset. The knock happens again. When the door opens, we see Jeff standing there. He looks at Mona and at Barry and decides to play it her way. "Youre not the only survivor you know."
Despite her first instincts, Mona gets up and hugs Jeff. Barry waits for the first move from Jeff. Mona asks Jeff if he knew about the bombing. Jeff hesitates and Barry goes ahead and answers "Yes. It was all just a mistake." Jeff and Mona both look at him in disbelief. Is he a whistleblower?
WASHINGTON --- 2:47 AM
Jules and James are still sitting out in the car. Two CIA agents walk up on either side holding their guns. They ask James and Jules to step out of the car. James tries to resist and is shot.
WASHINGTON--- 3:13 AM
Mona, Jeff, and Barry are walking toward the directors office. Barry opens the door and we see Wallace and Jules sitting in the office. Jules has a random CIA agent standing next to her. Another random CIA agent stands behind Wallace. "Wheres my father?" Mona asks. Jules starts to cry. Wallace stands up and says "He was a good man." Mona slaps Wallace. One of the agents starts to pull out his gun but Wallace motions him not to.
Mona lays it on the line, what she knows. Jeff says he didnt know what the end result was. If war had initially been mentioned, he never would have done it. Barry then lays everything else on the line. Then, the shit really hits the fan. Another random CIA agent opens the door and shouts at Wallace to turn on the TV, which he does. For some odd reason, the station was on Playboy Channel which provokes a laugh from Mona and Jeff and a stare from Wallace. Wallace turns the station to CNN where they have breaking coverage about the CIAs involvement in the bombing.
Mona looks at Wallace and says "of course, the police will be expecting complete cooperation."
WASHINGTON--- 7:08 AM
The White House--- President Cooper is now faced with this career destroying news. He ordered the bombing of his own embassy. Everyone is talking impeachment and possibly imprisonment on the grounds of treason. President Cooper opens his desk and pulls out a gun. The screen fades to black and we hear a gun shot.
WASHINGTON--- 10:48 AM (closing explanations)
Director Wallace was indicted on charges of treason and 33 counts of felony murder. He is currently serving life, without the possibility of parole.
Barry Howe was initially indicted on charges of treason. Due to his extensive cooperation with the investigation, the charges were dropped but he was forced to resign from the CIA.
Harry Lee became the spokesperson to talk to about this situation. He appeared everywhere from CNN to CNBC to MSNBC and became one of the most interviewed people in history.
Jeff Reynolds was never indicted and resigned from the CIA. He currently lives in Washington DC with his wife and three kids.
Mona kept her position at the CIA and got a promotion. She is on her way to becoming the first female director of the CIA. She currently lives in Washington DC with her husband and three kids.
