No secret that ‘Body of Lies’ is a cinema hit
CIA operative Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is considered the best of the best in American covert operations. When a possible leak surfaces on the whereabouts of a high-ranking Jordanian terrorist, Ferris is teamed with CIA boss Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), who sends him into the middle of a war zone to eliminate the target and get out unnoticed. But as the assignment begins to unfold, Ferris quickly learns that something else may be going on; something his boss apparently failed to mention over their numerous phone conversations. Realizing he can’t trust anyone anymore, Ferris creates a shaky alliance with the head of the Jordanian intelligence (Mark Strong) in the hopes that he can still complete the mission and save his own life before his cover is blown.
In his earlier days on the ‘Titanic,’ Leo DiCaprio was nothing but a pretty boy heartthrob who could get any lady’s attention just by walking into a room. Then, as he began pushing thirty, Martin Scorsese made a man out of this talented star and I don’t think anyone’s looked back ever since. My only question is, how much more hair will he try to put on his face before people start to believe in his maturity? You had me convinced at ‘Gangs of New York.’ And ‘The Departed’ was just icing on the cake.
I was a little skeptical about how Leo would fit into an already established chemistry between Crowe and Scott, but the underdog persona works completely to his advantage once again as he dodges a lot of bullets, and (barely) survives a few explosions. At the end of the day, all his emotions get hammered into Crowe’s ears over the phone as he grows more insistent and a lot less patient with his leadership. We get sucked into his panic very quickly as the movie rolls on, but at the same time we have to understand that he can’t just walk out. Either the mission succeeds, or all those involved go six feet under… with a very convincing alibi on top of it.
After gaining 63 pounds in preparation for his role, I think it’s safe to say that Russell Crowe will do just about anything to work with Ridley Scott. Some would believe it to be an easy paycheck for both men. Even if what they do isn’t as classic as they want it to be, they have never collaborated for a result that wasn’t “must-see” at the very least.
While he doesn’t share the screen much with his young counterpart, the veteran Crowe does aid a great deal in bringing out the best of DiCaprio in terms of emotion and intensity. And as Leo shines for the most part, Crowe sort of takes a ride in the backseat by filling in that supporting gap where we don’t really know if he’s a good guy or a bad guy, but it’s easy to hate him for being so manipulative and careless and sometimes even annoying. He thinks he knows it all, but seeing as how he’s making life-and-death decisions over a cell phone while sitting by his pool halfway around the world, it’s obvious that he won’t hesitate for a second to kill off his own man if things get too out of hand. Therein again lies the importance of the job; it’s not about who you can keep alive, but what you can protect (in this case, national security)… regardless of how many bodies you have to bury with the truth.
Oscar-winning writer William Monahan (The Departed) knew how to adapt his idea of corruption into the visual underworld of Martin Scorsese. Now he brings that same concept into politics and uses the Ridley Scott style of action to give David Ignatius’ book the proper loyalty it deserves. I noticed a lot of similar shot techniques here as I did in ‘Black Hawk Down,’ (overhead shots, quick zooms, etc.) and a few angles that resembled ‘Gladiator’ to a certain degree. But even with its evident influences, ‘Body of Lies’ still exists on its own unique platform by making multiple contributions from several dimensions. And Scott proves here that he knows a thing or two about dimensions as he trots the globe in numerous shifts. It might seem a little too quick and slightly confusing at certain points, but at least he tells you where they are and exactly what time of day it is.
Unlike the professional online critics, I’ve never been one to compare the now to the then, especially when the older films were so long before my time. But seeing as how opinions were so mixed on the two films I mentioned earlier, it’d probably make more sense on a general scale to mention Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Three Days of the Condor,’ which follows the Watergate scandal during the Vietnam Era, or ‘All The President’s Men’ which is considered by many to be ‘The Godfather’ of political/conspiracy thrillers.
‘Syriana’ and ‘The Kingdom’ were both valiant efforts in my book, but the structure in those films felt a little jumbled with one too many characters and numerous tactics that only current event nerds would understand. Ridley Scott is not afraid to keep the tide turning with more than a few twists in a span of two hours, but ‘Body of Lies’ manages to avoid being too heavy or out of control, and is able to reach out to anyone who is aware of American foreign affairs, which makes it a classic reminder of some of the older, more acclaimed thrillers like it. And with Election Day just around the corner, I think it’s safe to say that this film got here just in time. Because even if the president can’t fix your finances with a recount, I assure you that if you vote to see ‘Body of Lies,’ you won’t demand a refund.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 10 2008. Filed under Reviews.
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