Instead, the action evolves in such a way that the viewer can easily reach their own conclusions. Likewise, while "Body of Lies" is an intelligent film, Monahan's script wisely avoids preaching and teaching. Ridley Scott keeps the action moving rather swiftly, something that may allow "Body of Lies" to avoid the poor box-office fate of the other Mideast-centered films. As Hani Salaam, Strong portrays a man who recognizes both the strengths and weaknesses of humanity while never allowing his humanity to equal vulnerability. While his obligatory romance with an attractive Iranian nurse, Aisha (Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani), feels a bit too tacked on to make sense, DiCaprio and Farahani have a subtle chemistry that manages to make the relationship intriguing.Īs the Jordanian security chief who grows to recognize Ferris's moral core, Mark Strong ("Syriana") nearly steals the show from both DiCaprio and Crowe. While Ferris lacks of the charisma of a Jason Bourne, DiCaprio's Ferris is a gritty, conflicted man who is becoming increasingly troubled by the lack of humanity that surrounds him. While DiCaprio lost favor with me for awhile in his young adult years, he seems to be finally returning to the promise of his early days. "Body of Lies" rises above the mediocrity of its storyline thanks largely to its ensemble cast. The sheer lunacy of the multiple conversations that take place throughout the film in which Ferris is struggling to survive while Hoffman is getting his children off to school is disturbing in its normalcy. Crowe, who packed on 50 pounds for the role, gives an understated performance as the man who largely commands Ferris from the safety of his own home. The scenes feel familiar both because of William Monahan's fairly predictable script and because the scenarios themselves feel like they've been ripped right out of today's news.įerris finds himself having to function in an Amman that has grown weary of the bull-headed American ways, mostly owing to Ferris's supervisor, Hoffman (Russell Crowe), an ego-driven man who has technology that allows him to watch virtually every move by Ferris but who is surprisingly lacking in vision and insight. "Body of Lies" is, for the most part, your paint-by-numbers action-thriller plopping itself intimately inside contemporary socio-political headlines. DiCaprio's Ferris is a complex man, seemingly driven by equal parts patriotism, justice and duty. Ferris is a free-spirited CIA operative with something a CIA operative should never have.a conscience.įerris finds himself heading up the Amman, Jordan operations for an administration desperate to find Al Saleem, a shadowy figure and head of a terrorist organization similar to Al Qaeda.
I expected to not enjoy "Body of Lies," yet another in the growing line of Mideast-centered political action-thrillers, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Roger Ferris.
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