Academy Award Buzz : ‘Body of Lies’
This year’s film selection continues to follow a pattern of not living up to the hype. As the 2009 Oscar season kicks off, movies with strong reputations and unreachable expectations not only miss the mark, but also nearly hurt the statuses of the actors who star in them. As audiences begin to miss summer blockbuster films, which have been uniformly traded for historical, slow, dramatic reenactments of people otherwise insignificant, the only thing left to do is hope the movies for the rest of Oscar season improve.
‘Body of Lies’Directed by: Ridley ScottStarring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong4 out of 5 stars
‘Body of Lies’ is a riveting, intense, action movie. It’s the kind of film that keeps you wanting to see more with every scene change, which means director Ridley Scott did his job well.
Scott brought in a cast with a long history of Academy Awards and nominations who collectively brought chemistry and humility to a film about the war on terror. Three-time Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio gives a performance reminiscent of ‘Blood Diamond’ but with all the power of ‘The Departed.’ DiCaprio trades in his traditional clean-cut image for the scruffy look of a disgruntled spy.
Yes, another film in which DiCaprio plays a spy. But make no mistake, ‘Body of Lies’ and ‘The Departed’ are two completely different films, if for no reason other than that DiCaprio is a cop in ‘The Departed’ and a CIA special agent in ‘Body of Lies.’
Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) spends his time throughout the film searching for the heads of major terrorist organizations on behalf of the United States, barely escaping several near-death collisions and explosions along the way.
His sympathy for the Iraqi and Jordanian causalities of the American-led war challenges his ideals on how far is too far in a time of war, which was one of the major political messages of the film.
Meanwhile, CIA terrorist-head Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) risks DiCaprio’s life, and the lives of his lover and friends, to catch whomever he can at any cost.
Hoffman is a fat, egotistical, pretentious anti-terrorist advocate who sits in Washington while the war is fought thousands of miles away, which Ferris points out several times in the film.
His opening monologue in the beginning of the film, his longest stretch on the screen during the entire movie, gives the impression that Hoffman knows his stuff. The only conflict between the two characters arose from a difference in opinion over how Middle Eastern people should be treated.
While Crowe and DiCaprio’s opposite natures illustrate a modern dilemma that is both jarring and emotional, it’s Mark Strong’s portrayal as the head of the Jordanian Secret Service that steals the show.
Strong, who has been in movies of differing genre stretching from ‘Syriana’ to ‘RockNRolla,’ displays his knowledge of acting quite well as the strong but reserved and untrusting Hani.
Even the sub-characters Scott put in were impressive in their short-lived screen time fame.
As far as direction goes, Scott certainly proves himself to be a master of the jump-style films; the type of movies Michael Bay (‘Transformers,’ ‘Bad Boys’) tries to do, but Scott does right.
Scott, nominated for ‘Thelma & Louise,’ ‘Black Hawk Down’ and ‘Gladiator,’ might see his name on the ballot for Best Director this year. With films like ‘Doubt,’ ‘Milk’ and ‘Valkyrie,’ it will be difficult, but not impossible, for Scott to get his fourth nomination.
The score was daunting and impressive, certainly one of Marc Streitenfeld’s (‘Kingdom of Heaven,’ ‘The Last Samurai’ and ‘Hannibal’) best.
Despite all its achievements, ‘Body of Lies’ wasn’t perfect; the film was missing something.
The political statements behind the plot, while strong in their visual presence with graphic war scenes and explosions, weren’t voiced the way that the previews advertised them to be.
‘Trust no one’ is the tag line for the film, but the film tackles abuse of power more than trust and still manages to make no harsh, evident judgments about either side.
That aside, everything from the credits to place identifications were superb, and the film is definitely worth a ticket or two.
Published on October 15, 2008 at 12:00 pm
