Body of Lies Review

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"Body of Lies" reviews

Movie: Body of Lies
Author: anonymous
Date reviewed: 2009-04-01 12:32:16
Rating: 3/5
Provider
Review: A bomb tears through a semi-detached Manchester home thus triggering a heady bout of international intrigue replete with hushed talk of 'us' and 'them'. We have, of course, ventured down this road before and almost with the same tour guide no less!! Tony Scott's "Spy Games" too had a heavyweight double act (Redford and Pitt) leading the way but there's something about Ridley's "Body of Lies" that pulls the film through.

Leo DiCaprio plays Roger Ferris, a young CIA operative on the bleeding edge of a Middle East counter-terrorist unit. He's the man on the ground whilst his boss Ed Hoffman, Russell Crowe, debates the politics of the matter with his superiors at Langley. These are roles almost tailor made to suit each A-Lister but only one really takes full advantage. DiCaprio once again instils in his agent a nervy energy that many will remember from "The Departed". Indeed, he seems to be effortlessly growing steadier as an actor with each passing role whilst conversely Crowe is finding it hard of late. Here he practically, and often literally, phones in his performance. The two do share some actual screen time together, albeit all too briefly, and it's here that the film is ultimately won. William Monaghan's script may lack the requisite punch necessary but when Crowe and DiCaprio are in sync you quickly forgive the film its more obvious flaws.

And "Body of Lies" is flawed. The first hour just doesn't flow as much as Scott would have liked. Events move swiftly from the Manchester attack to Ferris' efforts in Jordan without any real pause to build on the characters. Scott borrows heavily, at least stylistically speaking, from his "Black Hawk Down" - he even manages to shoehorn in a chopper chase across the desert just to enliven the early proceedings. It's only half way in that things start to settle and take shape with the introduction of Mark Strong's head of the Jordanian Secret Service. His well-dressed psycho anchors the film and gives DiCaprio a more reliable foil than the absentee Crowe. In fact the final third, with the creation of a faux terrorist group, and the shadow games it inspires, is so ingenuous that it's a wonder Scott didn't just take his cue from here!

"Body of Lies" is certainly not Scott's finest hour, or Crowe's for that matter, but it will go down as DiCaprio's strongest role to date. Although Strong's showy performance will take the headlines, it's DiCaprio who should be most fondly remembered. "Body of Lies" may be a retread but thanks to a final sleight of hand this is one road you won't mind taking again.
Copyright © 2009.

Movie

Body of Lies

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2009-08-03 21:28:16

Rating

3/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Body of Lies is an unexceptional but exciting Middle-East thriller that is lifted by the potent screen teaming of Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe.

Story

Although its Mideast trappings have become terribly familiar in any number of recent movies from Syriana to The Kingdom to director Ridley Scott's own Black Hawk Down, William Monaghan's (The Departed) tight script still has pertinent things to say about the lies and deceptions inherent in our covert operations in the region. Cloaked in a cat and mouse thriller format, the story centers on Roger Ferris (DiCaprio)--a top CIA operative, fluent in the Arab language-- who roams from country to country trying to penetrate top secret terrorist cells and uncover plans for mayhem. In trying to smoke out a shadowy terrorist who has been directing a series of key bombings against civilian targets in Europe, Ferris comes up with the ingenious idea to create a phony rival group that appears to be taking credit for the "real" Al Qaeda-type organization's business. Complicating matters for Ferris is his boss, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), back at CIA headquarters, who sees the world in black and white and believes there is no such thing as going too far to achieve goals in the best interest of the U.S. Both must also deal with the head of Jordanian Intelligence, Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), who recognizes that each is useful for his own counter-terrorism efforts.

Acting

There are a LOT of explosions that keep getting in the way of the dramatics--and much of the Crowe/DiCaprio teaming is played out on opposite sides of a phone line. But Body of Lies incorporates a first-rate cast, including many local Middle Eastern performers who make strong impressions. Crowe--adopting some sort of quasi-southern accent (apparently from Arkansas)--creates an amusing CIA boss who sees the world from one perspective--his. Juxtaposing his duties to family as well as America, Crowe creates a full blooded portrait of a husband, father and CIA lifer who thinks he knows all the answers. His few scenes when he is face to face with co-star DiCaprio are worth the wait and both stars play off each other with ease. DiCaprio is back in Blood Diamond territory here as a rogue operative using his own ingenuity to make a difference. His on-screen command of some Arabic phrases is unforced and impressive and he earns the audience's empathy , particularly when he winds up in well over his head. There are also some nice scenes opposite a Muslim nurse he strikes up a relationship with while in the hospital. Iranian star Golshifteh Farahani is beautiful and nicely understated in these moments. Strong, who also is very fine in another of the week's new releases, RocknRolla, is suave and powerful as the shrewd Jordanian Crowe and DiCaprio cross swords with. Other regional actors fill out their roles with uncommon authenticity.

Direction

There can be no question Ridley Scott is a master of the film medium. Body of Lies moves very well and thanks to the Scott style manual has lots of urgency. Employing his usual use of multiple cameras getting simultaneous angles in every scene, Scott doesn't rely on actors having to do a lot of takes and in the process manages to give the film a documentary kind of feel. Although the filmmaking approach sometimes leads to more confusion than we would like, it also puts us right in the center of the action. And there's plenty of that. Working for the fourth time with Crowe, the two clearly have a rapport and similar seat-of-the-pants way of working, which DiCaprio seems to have picked up nicely. If this isn't as impressive an overall achievement as Black Hawk Down, it's still an entertainment that is a cut above some of the other recent spate of Middle East-set thrillers. Locations are well used too, with Northern Africa and specifically the Moroccan environs filling in for the some dozen countries identified on the screen.