Movie Review: Body of Lies
Ridley Scott Film From David Ignatius Novel, Stars Leonardo DiCaprio
Oct 6, 2008
"Trust no one. Deceive everyone" reads the tagline for Body of Lies, Ridley Scott's latest espionage thriller. But is the person most deceived by their own deceptions, themselves? That's the disturbing question at the heart of this thriller, which looks at American espionage through a post 9/11 lens.
What's It About?
Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a CIA agent with a problem. He's attempting to penetrate an Al-Qaeda type terrorist organization run by an unassuming but deadly Muslim named Al Saleem (Alon Abutbul).
However, Ferris not only has to contend with suicide bombers and paranoid Arabs, but also his overweight boss Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), an ethnocentric analyst who wants results yesterday. Even worse, Hoffman's more than willing to alienate his allies especially Hansi (Mark Strong), the suave and deadly head of Jordanian Intelligence, in the name of short-term gain. It's a position that alienates the US's allies, and encourages neutral types to flock to the anti-American banner.
"I must have complete honesty if we are to work together," Hansi tells Ferris in their first meeting. But it's a promise that Ferris finds himself unable to keep. And that's the disturbing question at the heart of this film, based on former Middle East journalist David Ignatius' book of the same name. If you can't be honest with your allies, who can you be honest with?
Body of Lies: Good, but not perfect, thriller
Flaws? DiCaprio's character seems a little underdeveloped, mainly because the audience sees the film through his eyes. However, it's never terribly clear why Ferris is doing the things he's doing. He obviously cares about the Middle East (which, as William Monahan's script makes clear, puts him in the minority as an American), but his loyalty to the Stars and Stripes seems secondary to just getting the bad guy. But perhaps that's the point.
The obligatory love interest, though well-played by Golshifteh Farahani, feels perfunctory; you never really feel why the two are attracted to each other. Given her importance later on in the film, the fact that Scott was unable to show their emotional connection is a major flaw for the movie.
The pace is suitably frantic, but occasionally too hectic for its own good. Scott never lets the viewer digest what they've just seen before there's another explosion or gunfight.
The Final Analysis
Body of Lies isn't the greatest espionage thriller out there, but it's solidly constructed and moves quickly. DiCaprio and Crowe do excellent work as the leads, but DiCaprio barely manages to hold his own against Mark Strong's electrifying performance. It's incoherent in spots, but perhaps that's the point. Either way, it's a taut little thriller with a lot to say about how American foreign policy has shot itself in the foot in the Middle East.
Either way, it receives a 7/10.
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