Body of Lies – Trust no one. Deceive everyone.
Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) and his boss Ed Hoffman (Crowe) both work for the CIA, their current assignment is to track down a terrorist named “Al-Saleem”. They are having a tough time getting any where near their target, because no one is willing to talk. When Roger gets an informant willing to talk in exchange for immunity, Ed refuses to grant immunity to the informant. This puts Roger and the informant in trouble because his group will torture him to give up Rogers’ identity. Ed works form behind the scenes and Roger is on the ground with no where to hide.
Hani (Strong) is the head of Jordanian Intelligence and he stresses to Roger that if they are to work together that he must never lie. In the world of espionage, secrets are standard operating procedure, so Roger must find a way to build trust with Hani without breaking it. The Western Culture clashes with the Middle Eastern Culture and Roger gets caught in the middle.
This is a very good film from Ridley Scott, he gets some outstanding performances from DiCaprio, Crowe, and Strong. DiCaprio gives a well rounded performance that proves his strength as an actor. Mark Strong brings incredible screen presence in all of his scenes and keep in mind he did this in the shadow of two great actors. This movie marked the fourth time that director Ridley Scott and actor Russell Crowe have worked together (it is now up to five times Gladiator, A Good Year, American Gangster, Body of Lies, and Robin Hood). Whenever these two guys work together they make great movies.
Directors’ Previous Movies: Prometheus, Bladerunner, White Squall.
If you liked this try: Spy Game, Bridge of Spies, Zero Dark Thirty.