Body of Lies

Body of Lies-2008

Near the beginning of director Ridley Scott’s newest film, Body of Lies, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Roger Farris tells his partner what he can expect for the day. DiCaprio goes on to say that today will be the “same as every other day.” The same could be said about Scott’s recent group of films. With his last films, American Gangster, A Good Year and Kingdom of Heaven, it is easy to say that Scott is becoming quite repetitive at making disappointing films year after year.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ferris is a CIA agent who goes to Jordan to attempt to find a highly dangerous terrorist, Al-Saleem, who is gaining notoriety in a series of worldwide bombings. Ferris is lead by his boss Ed Hoffman, played by Russell Crowe, who is an expert in the Jordanian area. Ferris makes an alliance with Hani Salaam, who runs Jordan’s Intelligence Department in order to find Al-Saleem. Yet Ferris is uncertain about how much faith he can have in the alliance he has not only with Salaam but also with Hoffman as he tries to unravel a way to reach Al-Saleem.

Lately, DiCaprio has been on a winning streak with his latest batch of roles. The Departed, The Aviator and Blood Diamond all gained him critical attention including two Academy Award nominations. DiCaprio is good here, but only as good as the script allows him to be. This role teeters a bit too close to his turn as Billy Costigan in The Departed at times, but DiCaprio is, as always, excellent. However Crowe, who shares top billing with DiCaprio, is given very little to do. Hoffman, with his Bluetooth permanently inserted into his ear, pops up time and again, but never truly has much of an interesting part. The best aspect of the film by far is surprisingly the performance by Mark Strong, who plays Salaam. Strong, who recently had minor roles in such films as Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Danny Boyle’s Sunshine and George Clooney directed Syriana, comes out as the strongest actor. He plays Salaam without ever making his motives seem quite clear and is the only actor who is consistently absorbing.

Just because two of Hollywood’s biggest stars are in this film, does not make it a good film. Righteous Kill proved that the Robert de Niro-Al Pacino combo does not always work and Scott showed with last years’ American Gangster, that just because two of the greatest working actor’s in the business are in your film, you still have to have a intriguing and satisfying story to back them up. Also, the horrible title does not help matters either. Body of Lies sounds like a movie that comes on Cinemax at 2 in the morning.

Body of Lies seems like it is trying to be modern and work as a response to the Middle East but it comes off more as a forgettable political thriller that seems most like Scott’s brother Tony’s 2001 film, Spy Game or even like a watered down version of The Departed set in Jordan. The screenplay, which just happens to be from The Departed’s Academy Award winning scribe William Monahan, throws the audience into the middle of an already progressing story and lets the audience play catch up. The film hits all of the usual political thriller checkpoints. Does the main character become suspicious of the agency he is working for? Check. Are there several hidden alliances? Naturally. Is there the inevitable love story thrown in for good measure? Of course. Which makes the film always seem remarkably familiar and ultimately forgettable, with the exception of a few key performances. But when compared to recent thrillers in the vein of Michael Clayton and the Bourne trilogy, Body of Lies is like the various men Ferris attempts to chase down the streets of the Middle East; it just cannot keep up.

Rating: B-