Body of Lies

Yes, the title of this movie sounds like it should star Angie Everhart and Richard Greico and it should premiere late night on Cinemax. Yes, the movie is another movie about the war on terror in Iraq because that is really what we need or want right now. Yes, the movie pretty much bombed(excuse the pun) at the box office and yes, it is time for Russell Crowe to move on from being in Ridley Scott directed movies. Yet, it does have the nice combination of Russell Crowe and Leonado Decaprio and is directed by Ridley Scott, so it couldn't possibly be a bad movie.

I am going to keep the summary pretty basic so as to not ruin the few surprises or twists that are scattered throughout. Roger Farris(Decaprio) is a field operative for the C.I.A currently in Iran, trying to find the man responsible for a series of bombings. His mission goes horribly wrong and he ends up being responsible for the death of a friend and ends up with cuts all over. he gets transferred to Jordan where he will be working with Jordanian intelligence led by Hani(Mark Strong). Stateside, Ed Hoffman(Crowe) is running the operation from a cell phone while doing the mundane family tasks. He is consistently undermining Farris and putting Farri's job and trust at risk because he doesn't have the luxury of Patience. One night as Farris is chasing a guy he gets his leg torn up by some dogs and meets a nurse, Aisha(Golshifteh Farahani). They begin a friendship as Farris tries to find a sense of peace with what he does.

That is all I feel terribly comfortable giving out as Body of Lies, plays out in a series of possible double crosses and a few twists that vary in degrees of surprise. What Body of Lies lacks in originality it makes for in many other areas. Spy movies are rarely totally original, I mean how many different ways can people be double crossed? What Body of Lies brings to the table is confident direction, great performances, a script with some nice moments of relief and a few truly brutal moments. As I was watching Decaprio, I couldn't find that timid soft spoken actor from Titanic anywhere. He has fully transformed into a strong and confident actor. His Farris is a respectful, tolerant but wily and smart agent and Decaprio, as the movie's main focus really nails it. It isn't Oscar worthy material or anything, but he keeps you riveted, especially in the final act, where he ramps up the intensity. Crowe is also great, which is quite a feat considering the screen time and the kind of screen time he has. Most of his stuff is expository and kind of light and Crowe does wonders with it. He is so perfect at the subtlety of a line like "Well, I should probably pack." He handles the whole thing quite well. However, Mark Strong, as Hani the Jordanian intelligence leader, really steals the movie in a star making turn. He has an Andy Garcia quality to him and really falls into the role perfectly. He keeps us wondering if he can be trusted or not and he shows that ruthless can be played with class and style. The costumer puts him in these spectacular suits and it helps him fit the role perfectly. It makes me excited to see his villain turn in next year's Sherlock Holmes movie.

For his part, Scott keeps things moving along at a brisk pace. The movie never comes to a stop and even when it slows down, Scott manages to keep the intensity of every scene moving. Even in scenes with Decaprio and the lovely Iranian woman, we never get full sense of calm. I am not sure if it is because of how it was filmed or why, but I never felt a moment of sure rest, even in the lighter moments. One scene in particular balances the light and the heavy. Farris is invited to eat with Aisha and Aisha's sister and Farris has a light hearted and funny conversation with the children but follows it up by being grilled by the sister about the war. This movie kind of walks that line. Crowe and Decaprio have a few conversations that border on too silly for the movie, but it always pulls back in with some cool spy stuff.

It isn't exactly the movie you would hope it would be given the talent involved, but it is a nice addition to the espionage sub-genre and it features a whopper of a torture scene and a better than expected third act. Decaprio has transformed himself into a true star in terms of acting and Crowe seems perfectly comfortable taking the back seat. He is Scottie Pippen in this movie and it suits him. I went in with not terribly elevated expectations and was pleasantly surprised at how it all worked. Scott has directed better movies, even a better war movie (Black Hawk Down), but Body of Lie works way more often than it doesn't.

Final Grade: B-