Haven't I Seen This Somewhere Before?

When I took my film class last year - and I can't believe it ended a year ago this week! - Josh told us to think about a movie for two hours after we see it. What's the first thing that sticks with us? That's what we write about. A week after watching Body of Lies, the main thing that came to mind was how much it reminded me of a lot of other movies. (Still, I think my father and brother would like this, and I believe Alan wants to see it.)

In 2005, Ridley Scott’s brother, Tony, directed a flick called Deja Vu. Perhaps the Scotts should have saved that title for Ridley’s latest, the diverting but derivative Mideast spy thriller Body of Lies.

While the source material technically is David Ignatius’ 2007 novel, the real basis feels like 2006’s The Departed - fitting, as William Monahan handled both screenplays. Leonardo DiCaprio in a baseball cap on a cellphone? Check. Our whippersnapper - here a CIA operative - torn between bosses (Russell Crowe’s Ed Hoffman in D.C., Mark Strong as Hani Salaam in Jordan)? Yup. Multilayered storyline that takes time to click? Yes, although Monahan was more successful with The Departed than with Body of Lies. Globe hopping to nine locations, from Dubai to Virginia, makes it difficult to establish a rhythm. It’s about an hour before the cat-and-mouse plot (invent a second terrorist group to tempt an Osama bin Laden-like leader out of hiding) gels.

As for Crowe, whom Scott directed to Oscar in Gladiator, he does most of his acting with devices, and the lack of human interplay emphasizes his performance’s caricature quality. Broad paunch, thick grayish-white hair, slightly sleazy/slightly Southern accent - it’s reminiscent of a Bill Clinton sketch on Saturday Night Live.

The two hours watching Body of Lies pass quickly; the film's a total “popcorn flick.” With the pedigree attached, though, one expects more originality. The Bourne movies showed how to make an old genre fresh. With Body of Lies, it’s a case of … déjà vu.