Body of Lies (Movie Review)

Movie Review
Body of Lies
2008
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe
Directed by: Ridley Scott

Espionage films generally walk a fine line. They usually have convoluted and complicated plots with a large cast of characters. Generally, they run the risk of alienating a good portion of the audience who have trouble following along in exchange for an overly-engaging story with tons of plot twists. Ridley Scott’s Body of Lies does a great job at offering up a good spy movie that, for the most part, will be understood by most of the audience. It does suffer from many of the problems that plague spy movies but generally it is still a very enjoyable film.

Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a special agent of the CIA whose job it is to seek out intelligence throughout the Middle East with regards to terrorist activity in Iraq. Ferris has his own methods and ways that make him very good at his job and one of the best agents in the field. His biggest problem at times is his boss, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), who sometimes treats Ferris as a pawn instead of treating him as the best agent under his umbrella. Despite Hoffman’s constant manipulation, Ferris digs deeper into the intense situation and integrates himself into the Middle Eastern underworld as he develops a master plan to reveal the whereabouts of some of the most dangerous terrorists on the run from the U.S.

Usually movies of this type are plagued with so many characters that you need a cheat sheet to remember them all. Body of Lies is no different but at least with this film, most of the characters only add elements to the story without requiring the viewer to remember who they are. In the end, we only really care about what happens to Ferris. The larger gallery of people he encounters throughout the film only furthers his narrative rather than add girth to the entire story itself. The large cast of characters doesn’t complicate the story all that much.

Thankfully, the story is excellent and the film is very well-rounded. It has a feeling of white-knuckle suspense with strong action scenes and smart writing. Outside of the multi-layered spy elements, the film doesn’t try too much. Sure, there’s the standard love story interwoven with the main narrative but it complements the film by giving it an additional subtle dimension. What I mean by not adding too much is that the love story and other things like the action scenes don’t try to overshadow the foundation of the film. Nothing feels overdone; every little extra element is meant to add flavour to the film rather than make the movie feel too busy.

The plentiful amount of swerves in the movie doesn’t make the movie all that complex either. Although it may risk losing a few viewers that are unable to follow the story, it never gets to a point where most of the audience feels a need to watch the film several times to understand the story. If there’s one thing that gets annoying though is that there feels as though there are too many plot twists. It makes the film a bit floaty in the sense that you never feel you can take anything at face value. Until the credits roll, you’re never all that certain as to why anyone is doing what they’re doing (with the exception of Crowe’s character that apparently is just a jerk; whom Crowe plays perfectly). There’s no emotional investment made on the viewer’s part because of this and once the movie is over, the only thing that resonates is the story. After it’s all said and done, one’s appetite for the story of Roger Ferris is satisfied and there’s no desire to see a follow up.

Body of Lies is a more accessible spy thriller than most. Ridley Scott did a good job at handling a very delicate balance between making the film mass-market and keeping the film incredibly intelligent. For that, he deserves a lot of praise. It’s an enjoyable film that will keep one entertained and drawn in for a couple of hours. However, it doesn’t create a hunger to see more.

☆☆☆☆