Movie Review: Body of Lies with Russell Crowe
Leonardo Di Caprio Stars in Ridley Scott’s New Political Thriller
Dec 6, 2008
Body of Lies focuses on the C.I.A agent Roger Farris, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is posted to Jordan to investigate and put an end to the activities of feared terrorist Al-Saleem. Farris knows the importance of building a relationship with the Jordanians, especially their formidable head of intelligence Hani Salaam. However he seems to be constantly battling against the ill-informed actions of his supervisor in Washington Ed Hoffman, played by Russell Crow.
The Main Players
The film holds quite a lot of clout simply for the fact it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crow, both under the direction of Ridley Scott. DiCaprio certainly seems to be going from strength to strength in recent years and after excellent performances in both The Departed and Blood Diamond he once again plays a heavy role, successfully and delicately defining Farris’s multi-layered personality. Crowe who has bulked up, if not toned up, for this movie plays a difficult role in the obnoxious Ed Hoffman, creating a calculating and unlikable character. These two big names are back up by other equal strong contenders including Mark Strong as the formidable Head of the Jordanian Intelligence Service. Strong play the character with balanced measures of subtlety and substance leaving you with no doubt that this is a man who could have you dealt with but doesn’t need to as you are going to do what he wants whether you like it or not.
The Plot
Body of Lies is based on a novel of the same name by David Ignatius. The book itself did not get great reviews, however the development of the screen play by William Monahan should have added some serious clout to this otherwise mediocre political spy story. Monahan was behind The Departed, which was particularly highly acclaimed. However despite Monahan’s script and Scott’s reputation for powerful storytelling, this film just never seems to get going quite as it should, and is at times somewhat like wading through treacle. A lot happens in the film, there is action, deception and betrayal, however equal it often takes a long time to get there. The romance that occurs between Farris and a Palestinian nurse, who has fled to Jordan, has its use moving the plot forwards but mainly just feels like any unnecessarily gooey centre to an otherwise gritty plot.
The Action
As ever Scott shows his talents as a director/ producer with beautiful cinematography, well choreographed action sequences and good pace changes, however the actual plot seems to hold the film and director up from maintaining this as a constant throughout. There are also some interesting editorial choices, one scene in particular showing an obviously CG explosion seems out of place, especially when the shot is repeated again, and again. There are some redeeming moments such as the techniques used in the film which give the viewers unique perspective and allow for some clever plot twist, these techniques remain constant and well used devices throughout. Also in the closing scenes the partnership between director and actor really comes into its own in a brutal moment of torture undergone by DiCaprio’s character.
This should have been an excellent film with all the elements, plot, direction and actors coming together however it just doesn’t quite hit the mark, having said that if the genre is of interest there are plenty of aspects that make it a watchable film.
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