Body of Lies (2008)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers (WGA):

William Monahan (screenplay)
David Ignatius (novel)

Release Date:

10 October 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Trust no one. Deceive everyone.

Plot:

Roger Ferris uncovers a lead on a major terrorist leader suspected to be operating out of Jordan.

Plot Keywords:

Jordan | Terrorist | Amman Jordan | Terrorist Attack | Cell Phone

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Roger Ferris
Russell Crowe	...	Ed Hoffman
Mark Strong	...	Hani Salaam
Golshifteh Farahani	...	Aisha
Oscar Isaac	...	Bassam
Ali Suliman	...	Omar Sadiki
Alon Abutbul	...	Al-Saleem (as Alon Aboutboul)
Vince Colosimo	...	Skip
Simon McBurney	...	Garland
Mehdi Nebbou	...	Nizar
Michael Gaston	...	Holiday
Kais Nashif	...	Mustafa Karami
Jamil Khoury	...	Marwan (as Jameel Khoury)
Lubna Azabal	...	Aisha's sister Cala
Ghali Benlafkih	...	Aisha's Nephew Rowley

Also Known As:

Chatter (USA) (working title)
House of Lies (USA) (working title)
Penetration (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence including some torture, and for language throughout.

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44537) | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Ontario) | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | South Africa:16LV | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Australia:MA | Singapore:NC-16 | New Zealand:R16 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Japan:PG-12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | France:U | Argentina:16 | Brazil:16 | India:A | Sweden:15 | Malaysia:18SG | Peru:14 | Norway:15 | Taiwan:R-12

Filming Locations:

Annapolis, Maryland, USA

Company:

De Line Pictures

Trivia:

During one Munich scene (actually filmed on a busy urban US street corner), civilian vehicle traffic was stopped only during actual filming. Just before and after filming, the prop streetsigns (written in German) were in place while the street was still open to thru traffic. Thus, some unknowing motorists went from seeing typical streetsigns (which said things like "Central Avenue" or "Washington Street") to reading differently-colored German signs for, say, "CharlottenStraße".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The accents of characters purported to be from Iraq is actually is North African, and most probably Moroccan. Even the facial features of those actors don't look like the ones who live in Iraq. Moreover, the costume of people is not Iraqi. It's simply how Arabs' costumes are portrayed in the American cinema, but actually it is not how Iraqis dress up.

Quotes:

Hani: You Americans are incapable of secrets because of your democracy

Movie Connections:

References Poseidon (2006)

Soundtrack:

Shta

Kingdom of Heaven: 1000 years on...

Films involving 'current events'--particularly those relating to anything happening in the Middle East and Terrorism--tend to be soaked in the writers', producers' and director's politics, which usually end up very much in-your-face and spoil the film, because you suddenly lose the story and drown in the preaching and proselytizing.

Ridley Scott, who has already addressed the West-East/Christianity-Islam issue in a previous film, 'Kingdom of Heaven', this time bit the bullet (instead of the sword) and continued KoH's story about 1000 years later. 'Body of Lies' is very much a Ridley Scott movie and this translates into the film's politics as well. Thing is, you can't leave politics out of a political movie; and so what do you do? Well, here's a newsflash for the poli-preachers on all sides: it's possible to have it all, and just watch Ridley Scott do it. Just like KoH, it's all about even-handedness and realizing that (1) every side in a conflict has a point of view, which, to itself, is perfectly valid; and (2) every side has people you'd probably like and some you really wouldn't, (3) the way to peace lies with understanding (1) and (2); and not with having just one point of view, no matter how righteous it may appear. Both, Islamophobes and Islamophiles--or those on the extremes of any aspect of the political spectrum--will probably find ample elements to dislike about this film. Others of a more moderate and even-handed disposition will find much to like and appreciate.

All of this, rather profound, stuff is wrapped up in a gritty Ridley Scott production and direction, that keeps your full attention for its full 2+ hours. Leonardo DiCaprio has really grown up and cast off his annoying persona, which was so prominent in just about all his movies; until 'Blood Diamond' came along. Russell Crowe is basically a secondary character, eclipsed almost completely by DiCaprio and Mark Strong. The latter has come a long way since I first saw him in the BBC production of Jane Austen's 'Emma'. The gentle and understated romance element provided by Golshifteh Farahani as 'Aisha' provided a nice contrast to the testosterone-soaked male world in which this drama plays out.

The movie confirms what I've known for a long time: Ridley Scott apparently can do no wrong.