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London,
Derek Malcolm's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Ridley Scott.
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Carice van Houten, Oscar Isaac, Vince Colosimo, Michael Gaston, Alon Aboutboul
Description: In the war on terror, there are no winners, only victims, as CIA supervisor Ed Hoffman knows only too well. Juggling his hectic family life with life-or-death decisions of national importance, Ed oversees the operations of agent Roger Ferris, who is authorized to use extreme force to ensure the safety of America and its people. Together, Ed and Roger pursue the elusive Al-Saleem, head of a terrorist cell which is responsible for numerous deadly suicide bombings across Europe. However, the closer the two men get to their target, the greater the chance of innocent civilians and US operatives being caught in the crossfire.
Country: US. 2008. 128mins
Secret war: Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio play CIA agents
Body of Lies can’t quite make up its mind whether to be an all-out thriller or a savvy political drama with something relevant to say about Muslim fundamentalism and the American response to it. But since it is directed by Ridley Scott, you can forgive a lot by way of crisply professional and stylish film-making.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Roger Ferris, a highly professional, Arabic-speaking field agent who is hooked up to Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), his CIA boss back in Washington. Ed is constantly on the phone to Roger — even as he takes his children to school. He thinks he knows it all, and he can certainly see all by dint of high-tech satellite reconnaissance.
The pair are on the trail of a major terrorist who is successfully causing havoc throughout Europe and Iraq. But the nearer Roger gets to his target, the more Ed puts him in danger. Ed’s thesis is that you do anything to achieve your aims, while Roger knows that certain things are off limits — such as lying to the Syrian head of intelligence (British actor Mark Strong) who is trying to give him the help he needs.
The screenplay, taken from Washington Post columnist David Ignatius’s novel, is by William Monahan, who adapted Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning The Departed from the Eastern thriller Infernal Affairs. It is often as eloquent as the film-making.
But the problem is that, though Ignatius clearly knows what he is talking about, having been on the inside himself, the film has very little new to say about counter-terrorism as it sashays between England, the Netherlands, Syria and Iraq. It could be about any other covert operation. And the romance between Roger and a nurse played by Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani seems totally unnecessary.
Still, the performances are able, though Crowe, who put on weight for the film, bears more than a passing resemblance to Elton John. Strong is particularly good as the shrewd Syrian chief who tells Roger that the one thing he must never do is to lie to him, while a bearded and battered DiCaprio goes through his difficult paces with commendable zeal.
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