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Spy game underscores the futility of war
By Rito Asilo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:21:00 10/11/2008
Filed Under: Cinema, Entertainment (general)
“Body of Lies”
D: Ridley Scott
S: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe
MANILA, Philippines—In Ridley Scott’s must-see action-drama, “Body of Lies,” Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe navigate an intricate patchwork of interweaving plots and high-octane thrills. But, in the morally ambiguous world inhabited by their characters, the ends don’t always justify the means—and a man’s life is just as expendable as his religious and political convictions:
At the center of this deadly spy game is Roger Ferris (DiCaprio), a top CIA field operative who is sent to Amman by his manipulative boss, Ed Hoffman (Crowe), hot on the trail of an emerging terrorist leader, Al Saleem (Alon Aboutboul), whose influential reach is traced to a network of fundamentalist allies in England, the Netherlands, Iraq, Qatar, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States.
Rare commodity
Responsible for a series of suicide bombings, Saleem’s group has so far eluded the CIA’s sophisticated (and probingly intrusive) intelligence operations—and the Big Brothers at Langley, Virginia, are on tenterhooks! To lure the elusive leader out of the shadows, Roger forges an alliance with the sleek but suspicious chief of Jordan’s intelligence bureau, Hani Salaam (Mark Strong). But, he knows only too well that trust is a rare commodity in the world of sleuths, terrorists and bureaucrats.
By using innocent pawns, Roger orchestrates an elaborate scheme to create a fictional terrorist group that soon catches the attention of his elusive prey. But, the ingenious ploy backfires when his extracurricular romance with a pretty Iran-born nurse, Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani), puts him and his covert mission at risk! Is it too late to start anew and turn his back on a life of violence and betrayal?
If the movie has no shortage of martyrs, neither does it have a scarcity of impressive performances: Giving a multidimensional perspective to the onscreen treachery and savagery and the characters’ errant, wishy-washy morality is DiCaprio, who manages to make his character sympathetic despite Roger’s rebellious streak and almost amoral nature. It’s instructive to see how his dramatic choices contrast with Crowe’s.
The Oscar-winning actor has added some 63 pounds more to his 5’11” frame to give his character an air of bureaucratic heft—literally and figuratively. Talk about dedication! Also turning in impressive portrayals are Strong and Farahani.
Combustible situation
In Scott’s latest cinematic triumph, ideology, religion, loyalty and morality make for an intriguingly convoluted but relevant mix. He provides a trenchant look at the cruelty and futility of war. Moreover, his juxtaposition of the increasingly combustible peace and order situation in the Persian Gulf, as well as the simmering sentiments of political technocrats in the US, bristles with cautionary pertinence.
With uncompromising vision, the talented filmmaker delivers a tense and taut nailbiter that doesn’t settle for “photoshopped” violence. This is exemplified by scenes that are tightly edited, briskly paced and expertly blocked, but whose gruesome images never feel gratuitous. After all, it would be foolhardy to romanticize the horrors of terrorism!
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