Published: Thursday, 27th November, 2008 12:00
Film of the week: Body of Lies
By Damon Smith
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Leonardo DiCaptio in Body of Lies
3/5
In the war on terror, there are no winners, only victims. Power to bring the conflict to a resolution rests not in the trembling hands of soldiers – the brave men and women who risk their lives in the name of freedom – but in the upper echelons of power in Washington DC and Langley, Virginia.
In these silent corridors, nameless men in suits pore over covert intelligence, making bold decisions, which could result in the loss of hundreds of innocent lives: collateral damage deemed necessary to track down the masterminds behind the atrocities.
Opening with a devastating explosion on these shores, Body Of Lies channels timely fears about the fight against terrorism into a routine spy caper, enlivened sporadically by the directorial brio of Ridley Scott.
The British filmmaker grafts some robust, adrenaline-pumping action sequences onto the disappointingly linear plot, including the bombing of a Dutch market place, which leaves us feeling queasy as the horrifying moment of impact replays via CCTV.
Viewers of a nervous disposition should look away.
CIA supervisor Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) is a key player in overseas operations. From the comfort of his suburban life as a doting father, Ed co-ordinates the day-to-day activities of agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is authorised to use extreme force to ensure the safety of America and its people.
Together, Ed and Roger pursue the elusive Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul), head of a terrorist cell which is responsible for numerous bombings across Europe.
However, the closer the two men edge to their target, the greater the chance of innocent civilians and US operatives being caught in the crossfire.
To achieve his goal, Roger aligns himself with Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), head of the Jordanian General Intelligence D
epartment (GID).
“I have one rule if you are to co-operate, my dear,” Hani warns the US agent, “never lie to me.”
Roger is frugal with the truth and sparks a tentative romance with Jordanian-Iranian nurse Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani), who tends to his wounds at a clinic.
The relationship exposes Roger, and Al-Saleem seizes the opportunity to strike back against the infidels, with deadly force.
There is nothing subtle about Body Of Lies, which reunites director Scott with leading man Crowe for their third film since the Oscar-winning epic Gladiator.
The romantic subplot is merely a crude plot device to facilitate a pivotal torture scene, during which Al-Saleem takes a hammer to DiCaprio’s right hand and smashes those Oscar-nominated pinkies to a pulp in gruesome close-up.
Marc Streitenfeld’s orchestral score keeps time with the erratic pacing, delivering bombast to accompany the pyrotechnics.
DiCaprio is lacklustre in a predominately reactive role but Crowe impresses as an overweight family man, juggling energetic children with decisions of national importance via a mobile phone and omnipresent earpiece, which never appears to lose signal range.
Now that’s impressive.
Further Details
Film of the week: Australia 