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Body of Lies By Harry Forbes Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- "Body of Lies" (Warner Bros.) is a taut and engrossing Middle East thriller about conscientious U.S. covert agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) who -- in an environment of deception and betrayals -- seeks out Osama-like terrorist leader Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul). He takes his orders from longtime colleague and hard-nosed CIA chief Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), who alternates mundane family duties with life-and-death laptop and cell-phone communications to Ferris from his home in Virginia, or from CIA headquarters where he and his team can watch Ferris' activities from aerial shots on large video screens. Hoffman puts Ferris in charge of U.S. intelligence operations in Amman, Jordan, where he soon concocts a plan to entice Al-Saleem by creating a phony terrorist organization that may force their target to reveal himself. Director Ridley Scott maintains a good pace, and the action is crisply shot by Alexander Witt. DiCaprio exhibits his usual commitment and convincingly conveys his reluctance to carry out Hoffman's often callous requests, and conveys his respect for Middle East culture in his use of the language and his growing fondness for a Jordanian-Iranian nurse (lovely Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani), with that romance, incidentally, treated with a chasteness befitting local customs. And Crowe, who is 50 pounds heavier for the role and has a good Southern accent, makes his sometimes unlikable character, with a callous disregard for human life, compelling. Not billed as prominently, but equally powerful is Briton Mark Strong playing Ferris' local liaison, the elegantly tailored head of the Jordanian General Intelligence Department Hani Saleem, who feels he can trust Ferris, and offers his indispensable help with, significantly, the nonnegotiable proviso that Ferris never lie to him. There's a good deal of action violence, including thunderous explosions and shootings, but actual gore is minimal, and a few scenes of torture are more gruesome in the imagining than in what is actually shown on screen. Throughout the film, there is frequent use of the F-word and intermittent profanity which, though dramatically plausible for these characters, may offend. The culturally enlightened script -- scriptwriter William Monahan adapted The Washington Post writer David Ignatius' novel -- encourages humanistic understanding of the politically and socially volatile region. A key scene involving Ferris, Hoffman and Al-Saleem shows how pathetically little Hoffman understands the etiquette of the region. By the same token, though, the script fosters respect for the formidable challenges an organization such as the CIA must face in such uncharted physical and psychological terrain. The film contains relatively brief but graphic images of violence, torture and medical procedures, pervasive rough language and profanity, and some blunt sexual expressions. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. - - - Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies. END Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
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