Body Of Lies : New DVD Releases

From stuff.co.nz
By GRAEME TUCKETT

Body of Lies is Ridley Scott's chance to turn in his Syriana, his Kingdom - and you sense by the way he throws himself into it that he's been just dying to show us what he can do with the ubiquitous "important Middle Eastern film".

The plot sees a newly fattened-up Russell Crowe teamed with a very hyperactive Leonardo DiCaprio. The pair of them are CIA operatives, with their fingers in every bowl of couscous from Aden to Baghdad and a few points in between.

DiCaprio is the man on the ground - a super-competent super-spy with the languages and contacts to run a network of contacts. Meanwhile, back in the US of A, Crowe is a gone-to-seed fat controller, who might be a lot smarter than he acts. Or not.

Tasked with flushing out an al Qaeda ring leader, DiCaprio cooks up a plan that will bring him into conflict with his alleged allies in the Jordanian security services. And then things get really complicated ...

Crowe can knock out roles like this in his sleep, and in this film he often appears to be doing exactly that.

We've seen DiCaprio play the conflicted and very possibly doomed young idealist before this, most notably in The Departed, but the two leads have an appealing chemistry together, and neither needs much direction to get this film right.

Around them a decent cast of support acts play out a greater range of local colour than we usually see in Hollywood representations of the Middle East. And, of course, with Scott in charge, the whole enterprise charges along like the Naenae Express.

Scott has never seen a crash zoom, whip pan or jump cut he didn't like, and Body of Lies finds him flogging his operators and grips like never before.

It's not a great film. The final act is too unlikely, a romance too convenient and DiCaprio's great plan is something that not just al Qaeda, but my mum's bridge club would have seen through in about five minutes.

But after the wasted opportunity of Scott's American Gangster, Body of Lies is a gratifying, occasionally thought-provoking and mostly inoffensive return to form.

Body of Lies
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Golshifteh Farahani
Rated: R16
Running time: 129 min

Customer Reviews

Interesting, Provocative DiCaprio/Crowe/Scott Thriller
"Body of Lies" is a taut, riveting thriller that weaves a tale of terrorism, espionage, and betrayal amid the current landscape of violence and retribution in the Middle East. The film is based on the novel by David Ignatius.

Leonardo DiCaprio continues to prove that he's got the acting chops and is believable in action films. Here he plays Roger Ferris, a CIA operative working to track down a bin Ladenesque terrorist named Al-Saleem. Al-Saleem's trail leads Ferris to Jordan, where he must balance working with and between his CIA handler (played with relish by an overweight, aged Russell Crowe) and the head of Jordanian intelligence (brilliantly played by Mark Strong), who are working at crosspurposes with each other. Ferris further complicates his mission by falling for an Iranian nurse (played by Golshifteh Farahani).

The movie uses wild technology, lies and counterlies, torture, and Ferris' growing disdain with the intelligence community. Some of the movie seems quite fanciful, and maybe it is, but except for a couple of places, it holds up as a brutually honest thriller.

"Body of Lies" isn't perfect, but it doesn't have to be. It's fiction. Some may find it unbelievable, but it's a movie, and that means it doesn't have to get everything right. It just has to entertain, and it certainly does.

Body of Lies Movie Review from The Massie Twins
A decidedly deceptive trailer makes Ridley Scott's new covert operations film Body of Lies seem like a battle of wits between Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. But the film actually delves much deeper into the bedlam of undercover missions, double-crosses and sabotage, and deals nail-biting suspense at every turn. Although the story looks like fuel for a Tony Scott (Ridley's brother) film, ala Spy Game, the sheer intensity, violence, immediacy and realism of the cinematography has Ridley's signature all over it.

Based on David Ignatius' 2007 novel about CIA operative Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), Body of Lies follows his undercover operations based around Iraq, Jordan (Amman), Dubai, Turkey, Syria, the U.S and more. Every move he makes is under aerial surveillance and the vigilant eye of Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), his superior who continually yet unintentionally detrimentally interferes with crucial missions.

Every objective for Ferris is surrounded by side missions, conflicting intelligence gathering, and double-crosses from both his government and the Jordan secret police group headed by Hani (Mark Strong). As the media is manipulated along with everyone involved in the uncovering of terrorist bombings across Europe, Ferris invents a fictitious alternate terrorist brotherhood to ferret out Al Saleem, a treacherous man known to be involved with the majority of the anonymous attacks. As Hoffman works to preserve his agents' involvement and Hani feeds his own ego, Ferris is confronted with several shocking revelations and choices that could ultimately lead to the death of his newfound love interest as well as his own.

Body of Lies doesn't slow down to let the viewer catch up to all of the fast-talking political jargon, in-depth public opinion trajectory issues, and the guerilla warfare tactics employed by the allegedly unsophisticated enemy. If you miss something, you're on your own. But this breakneck pace coupled with relentless explosions and firefights, fierce chase sequences, grueling torture and continual brushes with death allows for blistering intensity and an experienced examination of suspense. Scott persists with plenty of close-ups that keep audiences on the edge of their seats, afraid of the next bullet or bomb that will certainly strike onscreen.

While the structure found within Body of Lies is one not unfamiliar to Scott's films, the flawless acting by both Crowe and DiCaprio paired with an intricate plot of trust and betrayal keeps the anticipation from ever backing down. A few of the twists may be predictable, but the deceptive motives of each character will keep you guessing their reactions until the unsettling conclusion. Body of Lies isn't Scott's best, but it certainly retains the finest elements of the masterful director's style, attention to detail, and cunning build of tension and suspense.

- The Massie Twins

Ridley Scott tackles politics in the way only Ridley Scott can
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.