Body of Lies (2008)

A CIA agent on the ground in Jordan hunts down a powerful terrorist leader while being caught between the unclear intentions of his American supervisors and Jordan Intelligence.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers:

William Monahan (screenplay), David Ignatius (novel)

Stars:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Roger Ferris
Russell Crowe	...	Ed Hoffman
Mark Strong	...	Hani
Golshifteh Farahani	...	Aisha
Oscar Isaac	...	Bassam
Ali Suliman	...	Omar Sadiki
Alon Aboutboul	...	Al-Saleem
Vince Colosimo	...	Skip
Simon McBurney	...	Garland
Mehdi Nebbou	...	Nizar
Michael Gaston	...	Holiday
Kais Nashif	...	Mustafa Karami
Jameel Khoury	...	Marwan
Lubna Azabal	...	Aisha's Sister Cala
Ghali Benlafkih	...	Aisha's Nephew Rowley

Storyline

Roger Ferris is a CIA operative in the Middle East; Ed Hoffman is his control at Langley. Cynicism is everywhere. In Amman, Roger works with Hani Salaam, Jordan's head of security, whose only dictum is "Don't lie to me." The Americans are in pursuit of a cleric who leads a group placing bombs all over Europe. When Hani rebukes Ed's demand that Jordan allow the Americans to use one of Jordan's double agents, Roger and Ed hatch a plan to bring the cleric to them. The plan is complicated by its being a secret from Hani and by Roger's attraction to a local nurse. Satellites and cell phones, bodies and lies: modern warfare.

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Plot Keywords:

middle east | spy | jordan | terrorist | muslim | 

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Taglines:

Trust no one. Deceive everyone.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some performers in the exterior Turkish Cafe in Munich Scene were stage-reading actual Arabic newspapers. The more-attentive among them were indeed reading from right to left (most noticeable when they turn a page).

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Goofs

The Islamophobic tropes in this movie are almost too many to mention, but one that sticks out is when Ferris (who is allegedly versed in Arabic and Muslim culture) asks "why would he deal with infidels?" about a successful businessman they eventually frame as a high ranking terrorist. There has never been any prohibition in Islam of having business dealings with non believers, and throughout history Muslims have done so as a matter of course.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: I and the public know what all schoolchildren learn, those to whom evil is done, do evil in return. - W.H. Auden

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Prometheus: Part 1 (2013)

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Soundtracks

Some Like It Hot
Written by Necmi Cavli
Performed by Oojami
Courtesy of Mac3 Artists, Inc.

User Reviews

Good movie, but a bit forgettable

I have really liked Leonardo DiCaprio's films since he came back from his hiatus (esp Blood Diamond). However, this one was quite forgettable. I enjoyed the movie when I was in the theater and left thinking "Huh. That was pretty good". But the week after someone asked what movie I saw and I couldn't remember. It reminded me a lot of "The Kingdom" actually (the feel, not the details). It was a very well made film, dialog and script were good, just nothing really stood out and grabbed me. Leo was the shine, he is such a talented actor and I was happy to see him in a great role. I just wish the plot had something fantastic in it to make it into a great film.

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [Japan] Warner Bros. [UK]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

10 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Penetration

Filming Locations:

Amman, Jordan

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,884,416, 12 October 2008

Gross USA:

$39,394,666

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$115,900,897

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Scott Free Productions, De Line Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1