Body of Lies (2008)

Directed by: Ridley Scott | 128 minutes | action, drama, thriller | Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani, Oscar Isaac, Ali Suliman, Alon Abutbul, Vince Colosimo, Simon McBurney, Mehdi Nebbou, Michael Gaston, Kais Nashif, Jamil Khoury, Lubna Azabal, Ghali Benlafkih, Youssef Srondy, Ali Khalil, Giannina Facio, Chase Edmunds, Morgan A. Vick, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sherif Eltayeb, David Ganly, Bijan Daneshmand, Houda Zbit, Omar Berdouni, Richard De Mayo, Clara Khoury, Abdu Rahim Kashmir, Sami Samir, Xanthe Elbrick, Ali Alvi, Vedant Gokhale, Ran Nikfam, Albert Twanmo, Ellie K. Wang, Allen Lidkey, Drif Said, Zakaria Atifi, William Meredith, Howard W. Overshown, Kathy K. Brady, Quentin Mare, Matt Gulbranson, Jill Wolsey, Annabelle Wallis

With the growth of terrorism and the fight against it since the horrific attacks on September 11, 2001, the film world has again become a theme richer. Recent examples of films with terrorism as their subject are ‘Rendition’ and ‘The Kingdom’, both of which came out in 2007. ‘Body of Lies’ also focuses on terrorism and focuses in particular on the stark contrast between two methods of warfare, remote and in the field… Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) is a CIA veteran who wages war from his laptop, a safe distance from the actual battle. Through an earpiece he instructs his man in the field, Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) in a particularly monotonous, almost insensible way. Ferris is a sophisticated agent and the best US Intelligence has to offer. Two top agents, who, because of their own perspective, have two completely different views. Despite this stark contrast, the two must have faith in each other: Ferris to stay alive and Hofman to fight his war. That is sometimes extremely difficult and that is exactly what ‘Body of Lies’ is all about…

‘Body of Lies’ is based on the book of the same name by David Ignatius, a former journalist who has followed the CIA and the conflicts in the Middle East for ten years. “We really felt that the book had it all in terms of a great plot,” said producer Donald De Line (Armageddon, The Italian Job). Ridley Scott, who read the proof of the book, was also convinced of the story and took over the direction of this production. William Monahan, who won an Oscar for his adapted screenplay for ‘The Departed’, adapted the story of Ignatius’ spy thriller for the silver screen. This already impressive list of names is really complimented by Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, two actors who have already earned their stripes in Hollywood. In short: talent enough! And if that talent is also used, it will lead to a strong film, because that can certainly be said of ‘Body of Lies’.

The film strives for the genre of spy thriller, but ‘Body of Lies’ has more to offer the viewer than non-stop spy action. The storyline is not too clear and the climax is not too structured. The middle part is actually a large mess of events, which must ultimately lead to that specific ending. The fact that the large middle section does not show a clear build-up to the climax is not disturbing, however, because the story itself is not the most important part of ‘Body of Lies’. No, that is mainly the theme that has been worked out in a fine way and thus complements the less structured storyline. Besides the depth that the story offers the viewer, ‘Body of Lies’ is also just a spy thriller, in which there is of course room for the necessary action. And of course we can leave that to Ridley Scott, who portrays this in his characteristic, often very striking and realistic way.

Incidentally, this is the fourth time that Scott has collaborated with Russell Crowe. Russell Crowe plays Ed Hoffman in ‘Body of Lies’, the man who monotonously instructs his agent on location, thinks saving civilization (“I’m saving civilization!”) is more important than his own daughter and somewhere is there something wrong with him. Crowe definitely gets the most out of his great portrayal of his character. The same can actually be said of Mark Strong (‘RocknRolla’), who is more than convincing as the head of the Jordanian Intelligence Service Hani. Leonardo DiCaprio once again does very well as action hero Roger Ferris. It is often nice if action films have some depth in addition to the necessary spectacle. That can certainly be said of ‘Body of Lies’, in which the theme is actually the most important aspect of the whole.

‘Body of Lies’ is therefore stronger than its comparable predecessor ‘The Kingdom’, also a film that does not really break loose in the messy middle part. Where it is justified in this film by the overriding theme, ‘The Kingdom’ lacked it. Ridley Scott knows his trade once again and the same goes for his fantastic cast. We therefore wholeheartedly welcome more collaborations between Messrs Scott and Crowe. All things considered, ‘Body of Lies’ is a strong spy thriller.