2008 Woodie Awards
'Body of Lies' bores, but visuals stun
Cathrine Schermann
Issue date: 12/1/08 Section: A&E
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In short, Ridley Scott's "Body of Lies" disappoints, as before "Charlie Wilson's War" and "Rendition" did. "Body of Lies" is simply boring and its central conflict bottomless, cheesy and incredible in most points.
Rapid, explosive and thrilling in the best scenes - but based on conventional patterns. Although the techniques are perfect, Scott's film is missing out thrilling drama, credibility and conclusiveness. His work is too banal, he is relying too much on the perfection of his actors.
Though, his biggest weakness is his lack of innovative ideas.
"Trust no one; Deceive everyone," is not only the tagline, but also the corresponding theme. Trust is a luxury secret agents have to abstain from. CIA freelancer Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) wants to arrest a top-class Jordanian terrorist. He is dependent on orders and consultation of his contact man Ed Hoffman (Russel Crowe), whose intentions become more and more obscure.
Consequently Ferris confides in the boss of the Jordanian secret service, Hani (Mark Strong). Their different intentions become more complicated as the film continues until they dissolve in a furious finale. At the end, Ferris is depicted as the refined man who's experienced something like deliverance.
Scott uses the sand and sun, dusty, narrow streets and derelict barracks' as stylistic devices. His usage of handheld shots and dirty optics bring visual authenticity to the terror element.
"Body of Lies" is active and brisk in many scenes; it depicts a labyrinth in which it is hard to differ half-truths from lies.
Moreover, it is quite impressive how Ferris and Hoffman keep in constant cell phone contact during the movie. Scott thought about pointing out the time difference, but apparently forgot about the thousand of miles separating the two in Washington and Jordan.
Additionally, it is quite doubtful that Ferris' ability of speaking Arabic let him pass as a local resident. Also, is it not understandable why the rescue of his love affair, the Islamic local nurse Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani), becomes the central point at the showdown of the movie, since they never shared a "love at first sight" connection or a sexual interest.
In brief, "Body of Lies" disappoints in terms of plot and character developments, but highly stands out for visuals as a movie in dealing with terrorism; not to mention DiCaprio's and Crowe's acting skills.
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