If you were hoping for Ridley Scott’s latest blockbuster to be in the same league as the director’s critically lauded Roman epoch, 2000’s Gladiator, prepare to be disappointed. Body of Lies is a middling action flick that, though well-made, falls short of Scott’s award-winning masterpiece.
William Monahan’s screenplay is based on David Ignatius’ 2007 novel of the same name. Considering that Monahan was the mind behind one of the best screenplays of the decade, 2005’s The Departed, this most recent effort does not nearly measure up to his best work.
The film’s central flaw is not the novel’s complex plot, which has the potential to be spun into a mind-blowing screenplay. Rather, Scott and Monahan fail to dilute the text and transform the story into a sophisticated, coherent movie.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Roger Ferris, a Middle East CIA operative on a quest to find a Jordanian terrorist leader. Several sub-plots introduce and interpret foreign policy issues including the use of torture, covert operations, and the unbridled abuse of power.
Ferris’ boss is Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), a believer in the Machiavellian notion that the end always justifies the means. Crowe offers a compelling performance as one of the arrogant and careless men behind the curtain of foreign policy.
Despite being overstuffed and lacking a coherent arc, Body of Lies is not a complete disaster: even minor Scott beats almost any other director. The rapid shooting style he employs presents the current Middle East conflict through a chaotic and unsettling lens. While this technique will undoubtedly confuse viewers and procure unfavorable reviews, it can also be seen as one of the first realistic portrayals of this modern conflict to come from a major studio.
Body of Lies is also held afloat by its star-studded cast. DiCaprio and Crowe do more than just sell tickets—their committed and moving performances are sure to impress viewers. Mark Strong adds support as a Jordanian intelligence agent who plays a vital role in advancing the plot and provoking one of the central moral debates.
In the end, Body of Lies is worth a trip to the theater. The suffocation of the main storyline by an overload of detail is frustrating, but ultimately forgivable. The layers of lies and details can be seen as a disorderly and overly complex yarn, or they can be viewed more charitably as a metaphor for the muddled truths we are not yet ready to see clearly.
