“Body of Lies,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott, is such a disappointing movie that it makes you wonder why such a topnotch cast and well-known director are involved. Movies about the Middle East have not done well at the box office, but “Body of Lies” will flop because of its flaws, not because of its subject matter. The plot is overly convoluted and improbable although Scott throws in a lot of action sequences. The script is based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius’ 2007 novel about CIA agent Roger Ferris (DiCaprio), who is undercover to track an elusive Al Qaeda terrorist leader Al-Saleem (Israeli actor Alon Aboutboul). Al-Saleem is responsible for suicide bombings in Europe and Roger’s boss, Ed Hoffman (Crowe) believes that his next move will be terrorist attacks in the US. Hoffman, head of the CIA’s Near East division and a cold pragmatist, directs Ferris’s movements via cell phone from his Langley office or wherever he happens to be, even driving his children to school. Meanwhile, on the ground in Aman, Ferris agrees to work with Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), the brilliant and brutal head of Jordanian intelligence. The plan to capture Al-Saleem? Make him jealous by creating another terrorist cell that grabs bigger headlines than his.
The acting is convincing. DiCaprio makes the most of a weak script as a CIA operative who has become disillusioned with the war in Iraq and its burgeoning consequences. Crowe, who gained 50 pounds, portrays Hoffman as callously logical, one who believes that the ends justify the means. However, the most interesting character is Hani Salaam and Mark Strong creates a man who is polished and urbane and just as manipulative as Crowe’s Hoffman. The script by William Monahan is just too implausible to believe; no one can withstand the physical abuse that Ferris undergoes in this film. And did I mention that he is also bitten by rabid dogs? See “Body of Lies” if you don’t mind investing 2 hours and 35 minutes on a so-so movie. 10/10/08
1 comment:
I agree with the writer, the movie could have been much more exciting if more thought would have been put into the plot. I like the idea of the CIA Chief calling the shots from Washington and I like the plan to work with the Jordanian secret police. Instead of making an exciting drama for the operative (DiCaprio) to slide in and out of danger, Scott throws in violence, explosions and an improbable romance to try to entertain us. DiCaprio was, in my mind, completely the worng actor for this role. Instead of a blonde, blue-eyed American, Ferris should have been a "swarthy" Middle easterner type who looked believable in an Arab outfit. I think that an operative who looked and acted like DiCaprio would have been dead in 10 minutes even though he spoke Arabic. "Body of Lies" Is lacking a good plot, poorly directed and poorly casted as well as being too long.
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