The names attached to Body of Lies are probably enough to get most people into theaters. It isn’t too much of a stretch to say that anything director Ridley Scott does is going to be at least worth a look, and Crowe and Dicaprio are never going to offer up anything less than good performances. Add William Monahan, who wrote the script for The Departed, and that’s a formula for success. And while the final product doesn’t quite live up to the potential of these names, Body of Lies is still a far better film than we’ve seen lately.
Roger Ferris is a CIA secret agent stationed in the Middle East, keeping tabs on terrorist cells and gathering intelligence for counter-terrorist operations. He is sent to Amman, Jordan to follow the trail of an evasive terrorist responsible for suicide bombings in Europe. There, Ferris makes fast friends with the charismatic Jordanian head of covert operations, Hani, who offers to help Ferris as long as they keep honest with each other. But back in America, Ferris’ boss, Hoffman, has his own ideas on how to run things, and causes friction between Ferris and Hani, threatening to ruin all their operations. As Ferris gets closer to his prey, the harder it is to tell where his loyalties ought to be.
This film is based on a novel, and this where things get a little tricky. Novels, with their longer form and slower consumption, tend to get away with things that are difficult to pull off in movies. Movies need more narrative momentum, and can’t really afford to have several separate arcs start and end in the middle of the story. When Ferris starts a new operation, it feels like we’re starting all over again. Monahan’s script is plenty clever, and does everything it can to keep the film moving, but he can’t keep it from feeling episodic, and thus, a bit disjointed and long. The film can also appear a bit preachy, favoring direct statements rather than building up its arguments. But amazingly, despite all that, there’s still a lot to love about the story they’re telling. The film is a pretty affecting look into how the war on terror is operated: how the operatives on the ground are subject to the whims of bosses who run this war while taking their kids to soccer practice, how cooperation is needed but rarely sought, how the people who actually know things tend to be put into the background. It’s a terribly harsh, fascinating tale with too many great elements to mention; it just isn’t structured that well.
Everything else works pretty well. Ridley Scott is just terribly good, and he leaves very little to complain about in the directing department. It’s interesting to note that the film’s Director of Photography Alexander Witt has mostly worked in second units, which means that his primary experience is in shooting big action sequences. He injects the same mentality in this film, treating everything as if it were about to explode. He’s injects frantic energy into the film, which helps somewhat. Does anyone still need to point out how good Leonardo Dicaprio and Russell Crowe are? They are fantastic, and Crowe in particular seems to have lots of fun in his role. Mark Strong, who plays Hani, is almost frighteningly charming, and he steals a good number of scenes in this film.
Body of Lies probably isn’t as good as it could be; the structural problems of the script really make it lag in the second act, and its preachiness softens what could’ve been a real jolt to your system. No, it’s not as good as it could be, but having said that, it’s still pretty good. The performances are strong, the directing is solid, and the story will still provide moviegoers with a lot to chew on. While it won’t floor you, it’s going to be hard to deny that you got a lot out of seeing the film.
Rating- 3
Credits- clickthecity.com/movies
