Body of Lies (2008)

Ridley Scott has always been very consistent in my mind as a filmmaker. He has occasional flashes of genius (Alien, Gladiator), but always seems to make steady, good, interesting, and watchable films. The same applies here with Body of Lies. While the film will not be this year's major awards contender, Body of Lies is among the better films by Scott, somewhere between American Gangster and Black Hawk Down.

One thing Scott always manages to do in his films is ground the film in reality very well, setting a mood that allows us to get into the film easier. While it has its dark moments, I wouldn't consider this a supremely dark or depressing picture, despite the subject matter. In Body of Lies, his take on the War on Terror in the Middle East is gripping and realistic (especially the sets), though not as thrilling as it should be. Though put in danger many times throughout the film, I didn't find myself on the edge of my seat whenever those moments rolled around.

As we already know, the film features two of the most dynamic and talented actors working today in Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Here, Scott gives his usual tag team partner Crowe a break to let DiCaprio take the reigns. Leo has long been one of my favorite actors for his ability to bring intensity and grit to every role he plays (outside of Titanic and Gilbert Grape, of course), making real and believable characters time in and time out. Again, DiCaprio steals the show and makes the movie watchable, as he's in almost every scene in one way or another. Without his commanding and charismatic presence, the film would sink. He delivers yet another winner of a show, showcasing his ability to grow into even more adult roles as he grows older. His role in the film is strikingly similar to his position in his career. He's in between young heroic roles and adult authoritative roles, which is what his Roger Ferris is: a young CIA agent dealing with new found authority and choices.

Though on paper, Russell Crowe's role is pretty weak, he manages to turn in a great performance through an altered appearance and voice. Once again, Crowe's character symbolizes who he is as a person: a shaken soda bottle one twist from exploding. It is because our two leads (I feel weird saying that, as DiCaprio is the only true lead) work so well together and hold our attention so well that the film succeeds. An able supporting cast adds to the film as well.

Technically well made, just like every other Scott films, Body of Lies brings nothing new to the table while taking things we've seen before and one-upping the last to do it. The sound in particular was a plus for me, as was the art direction (like I've said, these are always good things in a Ridley Scott film). The preview can be a bit deceiving in marketing the film as an action political thriller, like Blood Diamond, when in reality it is the thinking man's thriller without that plot twist I thought would be coming. While the film does have some marvelous and well done action, it's few and far between, as the film is more about gathering intelligence than intelligently blowing everything up.

I also appreciate that the film rarely dragged or got boring, and I credit this to yet another winning script from William Monahan, scribe of The Departed. I think another Oscar nomination for Monahan is possible here. All in all, Body of Lies is a well made film that would be nothing special (again, the lack of thrills in some parts) if not for the commanding presence

Fmovies: One of the Greatest Directors of All time has picked a touchy subject for his newest film. Did Rid pull it off?

Body of Lies is a smart political thriller on the state of some of the world's debacles,

Some of the high points of the film were the action sequences which were very similar to the style of action sequences of "Black Hawk Down". The acting was also great. Personally i liked Crowe's performance more as a CIA head he was very dedicated to the role and put on 66pounds for it, he also had the Virginian accent down. But I thought that Leinardo DiCaprio was very similar to his role in the departed. (Watch when he is talking on the phone you will see what I mean) The cinematography was Grade A also.

But the thing that impressed me most was the way Ridley Built up the story and tension not knowing who to trust, (obviously one of the themes of the movie) this brought me back to the days of "Alien" with the slow building atlosphere which made "Alien" one of the most respected films of all time. It was also a balanced look at the Iraq situation as it wasn't following the Anti-America trend but it also wasn't trying to justify the war. It also will leave you thinking about the current events long after the credits have ended.

All in All through great shots, Acting and Direction make "Body Of Lies" a hit and can be put on Ridley Scotts list of Greats on his CV.

The craftsmanship behind director Ridley Scott's 2008 convulsive political thriller is impressive, but having acts of terrorism drive an intentionally labyrinth plot reveals how they impede the story structurally, an insurmountable barrier that screenwriter William Monahan ("The Departed") can't seem to overcome. The movie's first half is all the more bewildering for all the double-crosses and cover-ups that serve to set up the central situation. Based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius' 2007 novel, the movie focuses on embedded CIA operative Roger Ferris who is on an undercover assignment to hunt an Al-Qaeda terrorist leader named Al-Saleem. Ferris is not entirely alone as he is connected via cell phone with his stateside boss Ed Hoffman, who is the head of the CIA's Near East division and directs Ferris toward life-threatening tasks in a most nonchalant manner from his upscale suburban home.

The plot's impetus is driven by the elusive Al-Saleem's unblinking series of suicide bombings in Europe in response to the invasion by US and UK troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The movie gets more interesting when Ferris decides to work with Jordanian intelligence director Hani Salaam, an erudite, enigmatic figure who is well entrenched in the Middle East militia and appears to take a page from Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" when it comes to loyalty and betrayal. Of course, it's a matter of course that Ferris' loyalty is tested when an elaborate plan is hatched to create a bogus competing terrorist group and use an unwitting Dubai architect as the head. The other complicating factor is that Ferris has fallen for pretty Iranian nurse Aisha when he gets treated for possible rabies at a clinic. It becomes inevitable that she also becomes a pawn in the political intrigue. Scott paints his canvas with a lot of graphic violence from large-scale bombings to more intimate acts of torture.

All of the external elements are fitting, but they can't seem to masquerade the convoluted and often cliché-ridden plot at the film's core. A solid cast goes a long way to compensate for the plot holes. As Ferris, Leonardo DiCaprio applies his trademark wiry energy to an intensely compelling performance that could have shown a bit more variety. Adding fifty belly-stretching pounds to his frame, Russell Crowe, Scott's favorite leading man ("Gladiator", "American Gangster", "A Good Year"), plays the Arkansan Hoffman as a scene-stealing character part. The irony is that the Australian actor's Southern accent is more convincing than DiCaprio's. Their antagonistic interplay, played out mostly on the phone, is rather predictably developed. Fetching Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani provides gratefully calm relief to the ongoing mayhem as Aisha, although her character comes across as a mere plot device. There is a nicely fractious dinner table scene with Ferris and her judgmental older sister, although the movie plays down the more human-size hostilities in favor of the pyrotechnics.

As Hani, Mark Strong ("Sunshine", "Stardust") leaves the most vivid impression of the cast but for the most old-fashioned of cinematic reasons - he plays what could be a villainous figure as a suave, mysterious man of honor who is completely on top of his job, an intentional counterpoint, at least physically, to Crowe's slovenly Hoffman. The film's resolution defies credibility, but it finally becomes clear that Monahan is n

Body of Lies fmovies. V. well-made; everyone from the cast and crew pulled their own weight in Body of Lies.

Director Ridley Scott's genius shines through what could have been another unpalatable, trite topic of the US' relations with the Middle East and terrorism. He expertly unravels the story of CIA operative Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is assigned to flush out an evasive terrorist who is blowing up public places all over the world. Ferris is increasingly frustrated with his boss Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe)'s impatience and double dealings, which more than once puts himself in jeopardy, challenges the trust he is trying to build with Jordanian leader Hani (Mark Strong) and his budding romance with the pretty Palestinian nurse Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani).

DiCaprio just keeps getting better and better as he is now more able to lose himself in a role and successfully shed the pretty. Crowe does well in an understated but dangerously quiet role as a Washington-based puppetmaster. The versatile Italian-Austrian Andy Garcia-lookalike Strong is fantastic as the powerful Hani, while Farahani's face lights up the screen and turns in a memorable performance as well.

The attention to detail in this movie is just awesome; the action sequences are not over the top but satisfactory enough to not lose the main storyline despite the complex thread of subplots. Overall, an engaging, intelligently-made film.

Amidst all the slam-bang, Body of Lies is actually a superb character study of two preening, bumbling CIA (presumably) agents trying to save the world in the Middle East. Roger Ferris (Di Caprio) is the agent on the ground, and Ed Hoffman (Crowe) is his remote-control boss in Washington. Their collective M.O. is to overreact and improvise at every turn, aided and abetted by their deep attachment to high-tech gadgetry and fundamental disregard for human lives. Their ally and foil, the Jordanian head of intelligence (Mark Strong), prefers more patient methods informed by a less skin-deep understanding of the people(s) involved.

All three are trying to penetrate and take out a shadowy, violent Islamic fundamentalist group and its leader. The plot is serviceable, the elements familiar, but it all works well to coax out Scott's and screenwriter William Monahan's critiques of the American way of unconventional war in the Middle East. The movie itself is funny, visually fine (Scott's touch hasn't deserted him), and engaging. Its center is the uneasy but highly entertaining partnership between Di Caprio and Crowe. At times verging on pure comedy (their semi-serious macho argument over which of them could beat up the other 10 years ago is a high point), the film never tips too far in this direction thanks to the two actors' easy skill and Scott's sure hand at maintaining a certain tone.

Is Body of Lies an antiwar statement? I don't think so - it's possible Monahan and Scott even think the Americans' grotesque imperial venture has a chance, if only they could learn a few lessons from the likes of the self-possessed Jordanian. But this seems unlikely. At the beginning, Crowe makes the very good point that it's precisely the Americans' mastery of (by?) their high-tech appurtenances that makes it nearly impossible for them to see their foes, who use much more down-to-earth techniques - like passing instructions by word of mouth. He then proceeds to ignore his own advice throughout the movie. Di Caprio rips into Crowe for his disregard of the lives of their local operatives, then goes on to thoughtlessly place in mortal danger an architect and an Iranian refugee nurse with whom he's infatuated.

They just don't learn. If they did, they wouldn't be who they are: the gallant spreaders of justice, democracy, and casual calamity. If that's what Scott and Monahan are trying to tell us, it's antiwar statement enough, the same news that Graham Greene brought us over 50 years ago with The Quiet American, updated and just as pertinent.

Films involving 'current events'--particularly those relating to anything happening in the Middle East and Terrorism--tend to be soaked in the writers', producers' and director's politics, which usually end up very much in-your-face and spoil the film, because you suddenly lose the story and drown in the preaching and proselytizing.

Ridley Scott, who has already addressed the West-East/Christianity-Islam issue in a previous film, 'Kingdom of Heaven', this time bit the bullet (instead of the sword) and continued KoH's story about 1000 years later. 'Body of Lies' is very much a Ridley Scott movie and this translates into the film's politics as well. Thing is, you can't leave politics out of a political movie; and so what do you do? Well, here's a newsflash for the poli-preachers on all sides: it's possible to have it all, and just watch Ridley Scott do it. Just like KoH, it's all about even-handedness and realizing that (1) every side in a conflict has a point of view, which, to itself, is perfectly valid; and (2) every side has people you'd probably like and some you really wouldn't, (3) the way to peace lies with understanding (1) and (2); and not with having just one point of view, no matter how righteous it may appear. Both, Islamophobes and Islamophiles--or those on the extremes of any aspect of the political spectrum--will probably find ample elements to dislike about this film. Others of a more moderate and even-handed disposition will find much to like and appreciate.

All of this, rather profound, stuff is wrapped up in a gritty Ridley Scott production and direction, that keeps your full attention for its full 2+ hours. Leonardo DiCaprio has really grown up and cast off his annoying persona, which was so prominent in just about all his movies; until 'Blood Diamond' came along. Russell Crowe is basically a secondary character, eclipsed almost completely by DiCaprio and Mark Strong. The latter has come a long way since I first saw him in the BBC production of Jane Austen's 'Emma'. The gentle and understated romance element provided by Golshifteh Farahani as 'Aisha' provided a nice contrast to the testosterone-soaked male world in which this drama plays out.

The movie confirms what I've known for a long time: Ridley Scott apparently can do no wrong.