Body of Lies
Review by Jeffrey Overstreet | posted 10/10/2008
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Body of Lies
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MPAA rating: R
(for strong violence including some torture, and for language throughout)
Genre: Action, Thriller
Theater release:
October 10, 2008
by Warner Bros.
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Runtime: 2 hours 8 minutes
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Roger Ferris), Russell Crowe (Ed Hoffman), Mark Strong (Hani Salaam), Golshifteh Farahani (Aisha), Oscar Isaac (Bassam), Alon Aboutboul (Al-Saleem), Simon McBurney (Garland), Vince Colosimo (Skip), Ali Suliman (Omar Sadiki)
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Sir Ridley Scott is not only one of the world's most popular filmmakers—he's also a visionary. Best known for directing Alien and Blade Runner, two of the most influential sci-fi films ever made, he also delivered such classics as Thelma and Louise, Black Hawk Down, and Gladiator. Sumptuous cinematography and strong performances distinguish his grand epics about power, corruption, and conscience.
Ridley's brother Tony is known for flashy commercial thrillers and action pics—solid genre movies like Déjà Vu, Man on Fire, Spy Games, Enemy of the State, and Top Gun. He's more of a stylist than a storyteller. If you see helicopters, explosions, and a lot of high-tech gadgetry, chances are you're watching Tony's work.
On first glance, Body of Lies looks like a Tony Scott film, with its the super-slick style, ubiquitous cutting-edge technology, and spy-game conventions. But it's actually the bigger brother at the controls. And in this contemporary context, Ridley demonstrates the same delicacy in portraying culture clashes that he showed in 2006's Kingdom of Heaven.
Russell Crowe as Ed Hoffman, Leonardo DiCaprio as Roger Ferris
It feels as if half of Body of Lies is viewed through the lenses of high-tech surveillance equipment. That's because the film is divided between a C.I.A. agent in the homeland, who organizes covert operations halfway around the world via cell phone, and the crackerjack field agent he commands and monitors.
The commanding officer is Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe). Like Christof in Peter Weir's The Truman Show, Hoffman is a grand manipulator who thinks that he can "save civilization" by monitoring the Middle East through the cameras of high-flying drones and using his hands-free cell phone to order agents on the ground into action. Hoffman's ego is frightful, but his resourcefulness is impressive.
Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the moral center in this tale that explores the very grey territory of international espionage ethics. Ferris is a battle-scarred soldier who's up for any challenge, accepting wild assignments so fast you wonder if he has a taste for adventure or a death wish. Ferris uses wits, charm, speed, and smooth language skills (he's one of those few American agents who actually speaks Arabic) to gain allies, challenge foes, and even flirt with a pretty Iranian woman. Played by DiCaprio with the same intensity he brought to The Departed and Blood Diamond, Ferris could almost be Frank Abagnale Jr. of Catch Me If You Can, grown up and applying his powers of adaptation for a good cause.
Hani (Mark Strong) and Roger
Ferris spends the first half of the film risking his life to gather information on the egomaniacal jihadist Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul). In doing so, he establishes a tense alliance with Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), the head of Jordanian Intelligence. Hani is a key ally for the U.S., but he has one rule: Don't lie to him, or you'll face serious consequences. This places Ferris in serious jeopardy when he decides to invent a fictitious terrorist cadre that will wound Al-Saleem's ego and lure him into a mistake.
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