Film Reviews

Body of Lies

• Rating:
• Director: Ridley Scott
• Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio
• Details: US / 128mins (15A).

"These people don't want to negotiate. They want every infidel converted or dead." That's CIA puppet master Ed Hoffman's (Crowe) mantra, which would explain his ruthless approach to the war on terror and the tracking down of the lethal Al-Saleem (Abutbul). Hoffman might be the eyes in the sky but Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) is the man in the field, dodging bullets and forming tenuous partnerships with the likes of Mark Strong's Hani, the head of Jordanian intelligence. However, double-dealings, betrayals and a difference of opinion on how the war could be won drive a wedge between Hoffman and Ferris, whose situation in the Middle East becomes ever more dangerous… For a thriller, Body Of Lies has a lot of exposition - most of the scenes (it feels like all) are just DiCaprio talking to Crowe on the phone - but the dialogue is thankfully sharp enough to keep interest levels high until the sporadic action scenes. Breathless in detail and information, the meandering plot really only settles down after the halfway mark, interrupted only by an initially unwanted and distracting, but then welcome, love story between DiCaprio (who would have guessed?) and Golshifteh Farahani's nurse. DiCaprio is fine as usual and Crowe doesn't have a lot to do but talk on the phone, so that leaves the movie to be stolen by Mark Strong; in a role that could have been forgotten easily, Strong steps up and gets himself noticed as the tender/brutal police chief. It might be a tad dated and be too much of a 'talkie' for a thriller, but the film's quick pace (taking place in Iraq, Holland, Jordan, UAE, Turkey, UK and the US in a Bourne-like sweep) is undeniable and just may be the winning factor.

Review by Gavin Burke