Rent Body of Lies on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: William Monahan (screenplay), David Ignatius (novel "Body of Lies")
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Oscar Isaac
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A CIA agent on the ground in Jordan hunts down a powerful terrorist leader while being caught between the unclear intentions of his American supervisors and Jordan Intelligence.
Verdict
With such a complex story you could guess this is based on a book. The core of the story is the contrast between a field operative that makes decisions when looking people in the eye and his detached chief who decides which terrorists and where to attack from the comfort of his home and office. I could argue this is too realistic with no elements of fun but really it's that we get very little character development. There's nothing to hold on to. The characters are here just to serve the plot which feels more like a documentary than a movie. To gain an advantage over the terrorists everyone plays each other to draw them out. No one wins.
It depends.
Review
CIA operative Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) tracks terrorists in the middle east. He meets a contact that's willing to provide information for asylum. Ferris uses the contact to draw out the cell, but when the contact is captured Ferris shoots him to protect his identity. This is a dangerous profession.
The movie considers the dichotomy between Ferris, an operative in the field and his chief Hoffman (Russell Crowe) who acts from his office in Washington D.C. completely detached. Ferris is in constant danger, surviving gunfights and explosions. Hoffman is never in danger, but since he's the boss he calls the shots.
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| Russell Crowe plays Hoffman |
Ferris obtains information on a high value target, and he begins surveilling the house. While Ferris experiences the hunt firsthand on the ground, Hoffman runs a side operation that ends in Ferris having to kill someone while also getting injured. The two are a contrast. Hoffman seeks quick solutions while Ferris understands the culture and nuance of the situations. He can't freely burn contacts like Hoffman can. It's a dense movie, this game of cat and mouse trying to track terrorists and in turn draw them out. They're always a moving target, and the bait to draw terrorists out in this movie is always human and sometimes innocent.
I get Ferris's love interest humanizes him, and it may work better in a broader story, but in this movie it seems like a distraction from the mission. It shows us how he respects the culture and is fully integrated, but that's nothing we didn't already know.
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| Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio play Hoffman, Ferris |
To draw out their target Ferris and Hoffman set up an innocent to look like a terrorist. Either their target will be mad that someone is taking the spotlight or want to team up. Either way the target should make an appearance. That tactic puts Ferris on the outs with Jordanian Intelligence due to the omission.
Ferris is captured by the target, but just like he and the CIA used people to draw out terrorists, Ferris was used in the same manor. He's jaded by the whole experience, both what happened to him and the continued tactics of the CIA. Hoffman continued detachment doesn't help. While the target is captured, Ferris isn't happy with the method.
Based on the movie, I'd imagine a book was the right medium for this story. I appreciate it more in reflection than I did while watching it.
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