Body of Lies

“Body of Lies” follows in the line of contrived CIA/undercover agent plots, seen in “The Good Shepherd” and “The Departed”. While it is thematically much more conventional than those two films, as it starts off with a terrorist threat, “Body of Lies” starts becoming interesting when international cooperation, culture clashes, and work ethics come into play.

Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the undercover agent, working under orders from Ed Hoffman (Russel Crowe). In Jordan, he enlists the help of the local Chief of Intelligence, Hani Salaam (Mark Strong) to track down and infiltrate a terrorist network. Yet, following a series of clues, Ferris suspects Salaam is not to be trusted, which leads to a tense working relationship. Meanwhile, Hoffman, safe in his USA office, degrades the situation further by overriding the chain of command.

“Body of Lies” is full of double-crossings and questions of trust, like any spy movie would. Despite being based on a novel by David Ignatius that was critically acclaimed for its fresh look, the story is not the film's main strength. The freshness and pleasant surprise in the film comes from its cast: Leonardo DiCaprio maintains the excellent level he's had since at least “Blood Diamond”, and Russel Crowe is simply stunning as CIA mastermind Hoffman. It is they, (much more than the new outlook on the questions of personal responsibility and confidence, and more than Ridley Scott's grandiose directing), that make “Body of Lies” the crisp, and thoroughly enjoyable film it is.

All in all, “Body of Lies” delivers much more than what meets the eye in terms of plot, and should be watched by all aficionados of the genre.

Pierre Schramm