Body of Lies came into theatres in October as perhaps the first of the prestige pictures of the fall. With a top-flight cast, and one of the more respected directors still working that hasnt won an Oscar, Body Of Lies had everything going for it but one thing: it got completely out-classed two months prior by Traitor, dealing with a similar subject and a lesser cast and director.
Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) is a CIA operative in the Middle East who gets sent to Jordan to track down Al Salim, a powerful terrorist operative. His handler is Ed Hoffman (Crowe), a CIA boss who runs things behind the scenes. When the two conspire to flush out Salim, it leads to Ferris getting in way further than he had ever imagined.
And while the film is a solid spy thriller, Lies suffers because it came out after what might end up being the best spy thriller of the decade. It’s still a a tightly constructed, intelligent film by a legendary director that hits all the right notes but doesnt do it nearly as well as it could. Ridley Scott has crafted a spy thriller that will end up being amongst a second-tiered film in his filmography but doesnt hit the heights of his greater work.
Part of it is because his cast is good but doesnt hit their better higher notes. DiCaprio is another role thats more physical than mental (see Blood Diamond), and seems to have a bit of an action star mentality to the part. He seems to be caught in trying to be doing a dramatic part while also trying to express more physically like he has in more action-oriented roles. Its an odd dichotomy for an actor and at times it seems like the character isnt written strongly enough in either direction.
Crowe has the easier job and steals the film from DiCaprio most times hes on screen. He and Ridley Scott have become one of the few director/actor teams still around in the vein of Scorses/De Niro and it shows. Crowe and Mark Strong (who plays the head of Jordanian intelligence Hani Salaam) take the film right out from underneath DiCaprio with supporting characters that are better written (and better performed).
DiCaprio doesnt seem to have quite the ability to work with a director like Scott, shockingly enough considering the list of top directors who hes worked with before, whereas Crowe and Strong may not have the resume of directors but manage to fit in better to the film. DiCaprio is a great choice for the role, and its hard to imagine anyone else, but the part isnt as good as it could be.
Its the key thing weighing the film down in comparison to Don Cheadle carrying Traitor on his back. Its what keeps Body of Lies, despite its pedigree and release date, from the awards podium it was shut out of. Its a worthy film in the spy thriller genre but doesnt hold up Traitor, Three Days of the Condor or the top tier of the genre.
This is a film with lots of great colors and visuals, not to mention a subtle score, and the transfer is terrific. Presented in a widescreen format, with a Dolby Digital presentation, it looks terrific. Ridley Scotts selection of shots and locations comes through wonderfully.
A Digital Copy of the film is included and is the only extra found on the single-disc release of Body of Lies.
With nothing on the single disc edition besides a digital copy, and even thats not free, its pretty weak all things considered. If you just want the film itself this is ideal, but it is as bare bones as it gets.
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Warner Brothers presents Body of Lies. Directed by Ridley Scott. Starring Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Mark Strong. Written by William Monahan. Running time: 128 minutes. Rated R. Released on DVD: February 17, 2009. Available at Amazon.
