Movie: Body of Lies
Director: Ridley Scott
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe
Rating: 7.5/10
Let’s me begin by saying that I am a huge fan of the Scott Brothers (Ridley and Tony), so my expectations for this film were set rather high. The slick editing, filtered colors and, yes, explosions that Ridley employs in his action movies were all included in Body of Lies; however, the movie much more than a simple action movie or political drama – this is a mystery movie wrapped up waiting to make the viewer ask a number of questions about what ultimately happened.
The movie shows Farris (DiCaprio) and Hoffman (Crowe) as two people involved in covert operations in the mid-east. Farris is the man on the front lines, Hoffman acts as the “case manager” or handler. Another way to look at it, Hoffman is really moving the pieces around on the chess board and Farris is one of the pieces. But who is Hoffman playing chess against?
Is Hoffman’s main goal to focus on the capturing of terrorists, is he attempting to outsmart other intelligence agencies that operate within the Mid-east, is he trying to act without regard for those who are potentially at risk, and better still, is Hoffman in any type of control at all at all?
Not being in the world of espionage, I have no point of reference as to how that world operates but I would venture a guess and say one important aspect is how well one can make others guess at what is really going on… and that is what the movie does. It makes you wonder what is going on with the characters – who is trustworthy.
A number of the reviews I found all said that the movie was disjointed or difficult to follow, and I would understand how one could arrive at that conclusion, yet I do not believe that was because it due to it being a poorly written film as some have suggested. No, it’s because it is written so well… the movie is staged in such a manner in order to make the viewer question what he or she is seeing.
Remember, who is trustworthy?
As for the acting, DiCaprio is quite believable in his part and Crowe fills the aging veteran with ease. I would almost suggest that his skillful ability as an actor made him the incorrect choice for this role. This may be due to viewing him more as a leading man than a supporting player. The fact that his character didn’t stand out, didn’t draw attention, may also play into how I came to this conclusion as well.
There are a number of good one liners in the movie as well, but the line spoken by Crowe toward the end taps into a view that, I think, is reflective of a number people in the world with no real justification – “Ain’t nobody likes the Middle East, buddy. There’s nothing here to like.”
If you decide to check out the movie, just remember to keep asking yourself who is really in control.
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