Body of Lies Review

Posted by Joseph Lee on 10.13.2008

Ridley Scott returns, but is his new CIA thriller up to par with last year's American Gangster?



Starring:
Leonardo DiCaprio as Roger Ferris
Russell Crowe as Ed Hoffman
Golshifteh Farahani as Aisha
Mark Strong as Hani Salaam
Alon Abutbul as Al-Saleem

Story: A CIA operative is sent by his manipulative boss to Jordan to find a high-ranking terrorist. While in Jordan, the operative forms an uneasy alliance with the head of Jordan's covert operations.

Fun Trivia: A key scene's spectacular explosion is not a digital effect ; it was a real (though controlled and safe) pyrotechnic blast --much to the delight (or, in some cases, surprise) of neighborhood onlookers.

I haven't read the book that this film is based from, but I am a huge fan of both Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio. Scott's most recent film have been hit or miss, with American Gangster being a solid return to form. DiCaprio hasn't been seen in theaters since his one-two punch of The Departed and Blood Diamond, both of which were critically acclaimed. Russell Crowe, the other star of this film, is coming off of last year's 3:10 to Yuma as well as working with Scott on American Gangster. So naturally with this level of talent all in one place my expectations were high going in.

For the most part, the movie holds up as a strong espionage thriller. All of the elements one would expect in this type of film are here and they mostly come together for an engaging film. Scott's direction for this movie, similar to the battle scenes he had in Black Hawk Down, are fast-paced and kinetic, bringing the viewer right into the moment. Then he manages to pull it back for the slow, dialogue driven scenes, which is the right medium a movie like this needs.

The script is also top notch, it doesn't dumb down the situation for the viewer and at the same time, it doesn't take sides. Like Ed Hoffman often says within the film, "Nobody's innocent in this shit". This film could have easily taken a side in our war with Iraq, but instead it prefers to paint everything in shades of gray. There are bad people in the middle east, but there are good people in the middle east. The same goes for America. Two polar opposites working together in DiCaprio's Roger Ferris and Crowe's Ed Hoffman.

Hoffman is a despicable character who in spite of appearing to be a family man, doesn't seem to have much value for human life, as long as it serves the purpose. DiCaprio cares enough about human life that he is willing to put his own at risk. On the middle east side, there are terrorists like Al-Saleem, who are killing civilians, but there are still good, honest people living there that shouldn't be held accountable (such as the love interest Aisha, played by the stunning Golshifteh Farahani). I love the fact it doesn't take sides, because it lets the viewer make up his or her own mind about what's going on.

The acting is mostly top-notch. DiCaprio comes back from a short hiatus just as good as he was then, playing Roger Ferris. Ferris is a man who wants to do the right thing and keeps having to make poor decisions because of the even poorer decisions of those around him. The head of the Jordanian General Intelligence Department, played by Mark Strong, is a man who demands loyalty from those he works with. Ferris tries to keep an honest relationship, but this is undermined by Ed Hoffman, who mostly makes the big decisions while in his comfortable home in America.

Crowe really seems to bring down this movie. He's playing an underhanded, manipulative man but doesn't really commit to the role. One could say that adding sixty-plus pounds is commitment enough, but he seems to play everything low-key and aloof. In other words, he acts as though he is bored and above the material he is working with. His attempts at a southern accent also come off as humorous, as he sounds like Foghorn Leghorn on more than one occasion. It got to the point where every time he was on screen, I lost interest. What should have been an excellent outing is dragged down to just "pretty good" thanks to his lack of effort.

The 411: Body of Lies begins as an intriguing and intelligent espionage thriller with great direction from Ridley Scott and another superb performance from Leonardo DiCaprio. The key factor here, and the one that brings the movie as a whole down is Russell Crowe, who seems to be going through the motions with an underwhelming turn as Ed Hoffman. As a result, it is not as good as it probably could have been.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]