The Devil's Double (2011)

A chilling vision of the House of Saddam Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of Hussein's sadistic son.

Director:

Lee Tamahori

Writers:

Michael Thomas, Latif Yahia (books)

Stars:

Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Raad Rawi

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dominic Cooper	...	Uday Hussein / Latif Yahia
Ludivine Sagnier	...	Sarrab
Raad Rawi	...	Munem
Philip Quast	...	Saddam Hussein / Faoaz
Mimoun Oaïssa	...	Ali
Khalid Laith	...	Yassem Al-Helou
Dar Salim	...	Azzam
Mem Ferda	...	Kamel Hannah
Nasser Memarzia	...	Latif's Father
Pano Masti	...	Said
Akin Gazi	...	Saad
Stewart Scudamore	...	Father of School Girl
Amrita Acharia	...	School Girl
Elektra Anastasi	...	School Girl 2
Amber Rose Revah	...	Bride

Storyline

Baghdad, the playground for the rich and infamous, where anything can be bought - but for a price. This is Uday Hussein's world and with his depraved lust for debauchery and immorality, he helps himself to whatever turns him on. When army lieutenant Latif Yahia is summoned to Saddam's palace, he is faced with an impossible request - to be Uday's 'fiday' - his body double, or have his family condemned to death. In a world entrenched in betrayal and corruption, knowing who to trust becomes a matter of life or death for Latif, as he battles to escape from his forced existence.

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Plot Keywords:

palace | debauchery | uday hussein | body double | betrayal | 

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Taglines:

The 80's were brilliant, if you were in charge.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal bloody violence and torture, sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Belgium Netherlands

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 2011 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Đavolji dvojnik

Filming Locations:

Grand Hotel Excelsior, Malta

Box Office

Budget:

€15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$96,414 (USA) (29 July 2011)

Gross:

$1,357,042 (USA) (23 September 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Corsan, Corrino Media Corporation, Staccato Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Danny Boyle was considered to direct.

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Goofs

In the scene in which Latif's convoy of 3 black Mercedes arrive at a checkpoint (59:00min), bullet holes in the windscreen of the last car in the convey can be seen though its rear window, and can be seen again as the car leaves the checkpoint (59:15min). These holes are not apparent in other shots and it is only later in this scene that the cars come under attack, causing the windscreens to be shot out.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Azzam: [to Latif] Hey.

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Connections

Referenced in True Crime Family (2011)

User Reviews

Certainly not a 1 star film

This film, although admittedly not a masterpiece, is not a 1 star film either.

This film has many redeeming features and I personally found it very enjoyable. In fact it's quite similar to Dorian Gray but loads better and nowhere near as monotonous. How a certain reviewer , who although has his own other personal opinions which I really respect, gave this film just 1 star out of 10 I do not know. One just has to watch the trailer to find out. Trust me, it deserves much more than that mark. Overall this is a great film and for me it lived up to my expectations. Despite some minor flaws I left rather satisfied at the end, certainly something 1 star films are not capable of doing.

It's after all how a film should be, rather enjoyable.