Syriana (2005)

Director:

Stephen Gaghan

Writers (WGA):

Robert Baer (book) (suggestion)
Stephen Gaghan (written by)

Release Date:

9 December 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Everything is connected

Plot:

A politically-charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved and affected by it.

Plot Keywords:

Oil | CIA | Oil Company | Immigrant | Pakistani

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Kayvan Novak	...	Arash
George Clooney	...	Bob Barnes
Amr Waked	...	Mohammed Sheik Agiza
Christopher Plummer	...	Dean Whiting
Jeffrey Wright	...	Bennett Holiday
Chris Cooper	...	Jimmy Pope
Robert Foxworth	...	Tommy Barton
Nicky Henson	...	Sydney Hewitt
Nicholas Art	...	Riley Woodman
Matt Damon	...	Bryan Woodman
Amanda Peet	...	Julie Woodman
Steven Hinkle	...	Max Woodman
Daisy Tormé	...	Rebecca
Peter Gerety	...	Leland "Lee" Janus
Richard Lintern	...	Bryan's Boss

Also Known As:

See No Evil (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Urdu | Arabic | Persian | French | Mandarin

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | UK:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:MA | Norway:15 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | Germany:12 | Brazil:14 | Sweden:15 | India:UA | Philippines:R-13 | Hungary:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:U | Spain:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Annapolis, Maryland, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

In the original draft of the script, the character of Bob Barnes was originally named Bob Baer, after Robert Baer's father.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: At the beginning of the movie when the woman is changing her clothes and putting pants on, she also changes from high heeled shoes into sneakers, but when she walks away, the sound is that of wearing high heels.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Arash: Bobby, where have you been?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Wasp Nest

A thesis on the culture of corruption

Stephen Gaghan penned Traffic, which was the best film of 2000. Now with Syriana, he has developed a companion piece, with the oil industry as the backdrop rather than the drug trade. The irony of this is that the films show that both industries are corrupt to the core, but only one is legal.

In fact, by the evidence of these two films, one could argue that the drug trade is the less sleazy of the two because it does not exist with the facade of legitimacy that surrounds the oil industry. If I was to make a list of the 10 best films of the decade so far, these would both be there.

It is tough, if not impossible and perhaps even foolish to try and apply one thesis to this film, but for me, it is that what we as civilians call corruption is simply the culture of the oil business, one supported and nurtured by government, business, traders and lawyers. No-one knows why it exists, but it does, and if you cannot wade in it, you are out of the game.

Syriana does not have a plot or a storyline, but it throws character and story and information at you by the bucketful. There is no warm up time. Gaghan goes out of his way to show that the people involved in this business are surrounded by a normal world with normal hopes and dreams. This is evident from the opening shot. A title card tells us we are in Tehran, but not a some stereotypical open market selling figs. It is a hip hop club.

The main story of the film involves a possibly corrupt merger of two major American oil firms. From there, everything else fans out. THe story of Jeffrey Wright, the government official investigating the merger, George Clooney, the CIA operative with missions with no apparent goal, the Arab Emir from an unnamed oil producing country, and his two sons each wanting to take over his reign, the industry analyst (Matt Damon) who will use any situation to advance his firm, and the young, broke angry Arab youth who look for meaning in life and find it in the most dangerous way.

Syriana is not a left wing movie, it is surprising a-political. It is not anti-American, but it most certainly lays blame on the US and the west for putting oil ahead of all other priorities. It is not sympathetic to terror, but its most compelling plot line tell us how a terrorist can be made from a bad combination of hopelessness, unemployment, anger and poverty.

If you are looking for a neat and tidy ending, you will be frustrated. The film ends like a truck running into a brick wall, with all but one or two plots left hanging. It does not answer any questions because I believe that Gaghan is trying to show that no-one is really in charge and that no-one really knows what is going on.

The acting is near perfect from everyone in the cast, including a small, two scene brilliant cameo by William Hurt and Oscar worthy work from Clooney and Alexander Siddig as the frustrated Arab prince.

This is an important film and it is not to be missed. **** out of ****.