Body of Lies (2008)

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers (WGA):

William Monahan (screenplay)
David Ignatius (novel)

Release Date:

10 October 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Trust no one. Deceive everyone.

Plot:

Roger Ferris uncovers a lead on a major terrorist leader suspected to be operating out of Jordan.

Plot Keywords:

Jordan | Terrorist | Architect | CIA | Cell Phone

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Roger Ferris
Russell Crowe	...	Ed Hoffman
Mark Strong	...	Hani Salaam
Golshifteh Farahani	...	Aisha
Oscar Isaac	...	Bassam
Ali Suliman	...	Omar Sadiki
Alon Abutbul	...	Al-Saleem (as Alon Aboutboul)
Vince Colosimo	...	Skip
Simon McBurney	...	Garland
Mehdi Nebbou	...	Nizar
Michael Gaston	...	Holiday
Kais Nashif	...	Mustafa Karami
Jamil Khoury	...	Marwan (as Jameel Khoury)
Lubna Azabal	...	Aisha's sister Cala
Ghali Benlafkih	...	Aisha's Nephew Rowley

Also Known As:

Chatter (USA) (working title)
House of Lies (USA) (working title)
Penetration (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence including some torture, and for language throughout.

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Arabic

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44537) | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-15 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Ontario) | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | South Africa:16LV | Canada:18A (British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Australia:MA | Singapore:NC-16 | New Zealand:R16 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Japan:PG-12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | Argentina:16 | Brazil:16 | India:A | Sweden:15 | Malaysia:18SG | Peru:14 | Norway:15 | Taiwan:R-12

Filming Locations:

Annapolis, Maryland, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

To get just the right look during a massive pyrotechnic explosion while also not damaging still-occupied neighborhood buildings, technicians used a "car chucker" (rather than the force of the blast) to fling a vehicle violently. The fridge-door-sized steel plate has a powerful spring-hinge device able to catapult cars for specified distances.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end, when Roger Ferris is talking to Ed Hoffman in the café, he has a deep cut on his lower lip. There is no tape on the cut. But when he walks out, the cut suddenly has tape over it. Also, his two black eyes are suddenly gone.

Quotes:

Hani: This is unusual. Your Ed Hoffman would rather have less information than share what he has with me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "De wereld draait door: (#4.55)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

If The World

Engaging, intelligent

V. well-made; everyone from the cast and crew pulled their own weight in Body of Lies.

Director Ridley Scott's genius shines through what could have been another unpalatable, trite topic of the US' relations with the Middle East and terrorism. He expertly unravels the story of CIA operative Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is assigned to flush out an evasive terrorist who is blowing up public places all over the world. Ferris is increasingly frustrated with his boss Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe)'s impatience and double dealings, which more than once puts himself in jeopardy, challenges the trust he is trying to build with Jordanian leader Hani (Mark Strong) and his budding romance with the pretty Palestinian nurse Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani).

DiCaprio just keeps getting better and better as he is now more able to lose himself in a role and successfully shed the pretty. Crowe does well in an understated but dangerously quiet role as a Washington-based puppetmaster. The versatile Italian-Austrian Andy Garcia-lookalike Strong is fantastic as the powerful Hani, while Farahani's face lights up the screen and turns in a memorable performance as well.

The attention to detail in this movie is just awesome; the action sequences are not over the top but satisfactory enough to not lose the main storyline despite the complex thread of subplots. Overall, an engaging, intelligently-made film.