DVD Review: Body of Lies
Ridley Scott's Latest Starts on Interesting Premise But Falters
Mar 2, 2009
In this latest thriller from seasoned helmer Ridley Scott (Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, American Gangster), the audience gets to experience the gritty day-to-day activities needed, for secret U.S. operatives to capture their political prey, in foreign lands.
Body of Lies Synopsis
When an extremist terrorist cell broadcasts a televised announcement threatening public safety in the U.S. and overseas, US intelligence operative Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) is assigned to work every viable lead, which could drive the CIA to locate and apprehend the evil mastermind known as Al Saleem.
Under the ever watchful overhead guidance (literally, from a sub-orbital video feed) of his handler "Big" Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), who witnesses Ferris' Middle Eastern movements via high powered reconnaisance vehicles (think flying drone with really good zoom in lenses), Ferris gets ever closer to finding out the latest whereabouts of his assigned target, until one recon operation goes wrong, and he loses his colleague / Iraqi contact in the process.
Once recovered from his injuries, Ferris is reassigned to Amman, Jordan, where he is told he might have a better chance of infiltrating the network of informants reporting to Al Saleem. In order to do so, he must cooperate with the local head of Jordanian Intelligence, a fair yet calculating man named Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), who doesn't take well to be lied to.
Together, Ferris and Salaam exchange information, while having ulterior motives relevant to their respective governments (amassing a "body of lies".....get it?). What will be the price of toying with loyalties, and orchestrating double dealings, all in the name of gathering valuable intelligence? This film explores this, and the cost of the life each man chooses, in the service of his country.
Body of Lies Overall Analysis
Director Ridley Scott does have a knack for picking the right source material, and bringing together the perfect blend of writers, to bring his projects to fruition. Using the mood of recent times post 9/11, Scott is able to exploit the feelings of distrust which still exists amongst many countries, and infuses it into a similar atmosphere of intrigue, among the intelligence community.
Very much like a Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum thriller, Scott's story (taken from espionage writer-journalist David Ignatius's novel) maximizes the potential tension in any scene of conflict. Given the high risk environment these operatives live in day to day, the director realy digs into the moral dilemmas field agents encounter, especially when being dictated orders and directives by bureaucrats back in Washington, at ease behind their desks.
Russell Crowe plays the blazé bureaucrat here, his Ed Hoffman a seasoned intelligence veteran, who is as comfortable multi-tasking life changing decisions affecting his men in the field, all the while leisurely enjoying his son's soccer game. This type of remote involvement becomes a source of irritation for DiCaprio's Ferris, who often questions the calls being made, by a man charged with his safety, who nevertheless experiences the action secondhand, via satellite images.
British actor Mark Strong, recently seen in such projects as RocknRolla and Babylon A.D., steals the show here as Hani Salaam. His portrayal of Salaam is a cunning, calculating, charming one. Despite his not being the main ghero in this story, he is a very charismatic player, whose presence in any project will always draw the eye, given his screen intensity. More good things are to be expected from him in the future.
Body of Lies Special Features
Though the Special 2-Disc Edition with Digital Copy does have a few extras, such as commentary by Scott and a scene deconstruction featurette, the single disc copy reviewed here had none available.
6.5 out of 10, for being a solid Ridley Scott film, but with Russell Crowe phoning in his performance, and DiCaprio needing to work harder at conveying emotion in thrillers. Kudos to Mark Strong for elevating this project higher than it deserves.
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