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

A marvelous character study

Amidst all the slam-bang, Body of Lies is actually a superb character study of two preening, bumbling CIA (presumably) agents trying to save the world in the Middle East. Roger Ferris (Di Caprio) is the agent on the ground, and Ed Hoffman (Crowe) is his remote-control boss in Washington. Their collective M.O. is to overreact and improvise at every turn, aided and abetted by their deep attachment to high-tech gadgetry and fundamental disregard for human lives. Their ally and foil, the Jordanian head of intelligence (Mark Strong), prefers more patient methods informed by a less skin-deep understanding of the people(s) involved.

All three are trying to penetrate and take out a shadowy, violent Islamic fundamentalist group and its leader. The plot is serviceable, the elements familiar, but it all works well to coax out Scott's and screenwriter William Monahan's critiques of the American way of unconventional war in the Middle East. The movie itself is funny, visually fine (Scott's touch hasn't deserted him), and engaging. Its center is the uneasy but highly entertaining partnership between Di Caprio and Crowe. At times verging on pure comedy (their semi-serious macho argument over which of them could beat up the other 10 years ago is a high point), the film never tips too far in this direction thanks to the two actors' easy skill and Scott's sure hand at maintaining a certain tone.

Is Body of Lies an antiwar statement? I don't think so - it's possible Monahan and Scott even think the Americans' grotesque imperial venture has a chance, if only they could learn a few lessons from the likes of the self-possessed Jordanian. But this seems unlikely. At the beginning, Crowe makes the very good point that it's precisely the Americans' mastery of (by?) their high-tech appurtenances that makes it nearly impossible for them to see their foes, who use much more down-to-earth techniques - like passing instructions by word of mouth. He then proceeds to ignore his own advice throughout the movie. Di Caprio rips into Crowe for his disregard of the lives of their local operatives, then goes on to thoughtlessly place in mortal danger an architect and an Iranian refugee nurse with whom he's infatuated.

They just don't learn. If they did, they wouldn't be who they are: the gallant spreaders of justice, democracy, and casual calamity. If that's what Scott and Monahan are trying to tell us, it's antiwar statement enough, the same news that Graham Greene brought us over 50 years ago with The Quiet American, updated and just as pertinent.