Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
I’m criminally behind on some of my reviews, and in a few cases, on films that I was under embargo for. Well, the embargoes have come and gone, and I’m just plain tardy. SYRIANA is one of the films I really want to review this week, and I’ll also be looking at MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, THE PRODUCERS, HARRY POTTER, and BREAKFAST ON PLUTO.
For now, though, we’ve got FanTasia reporter, anime fan, and frequent contributor Cbabbitt, with his take on the film that I interviewed Stephen Gaghan about recently:
Syriana is the most ambitious and seemingly important political film released in 2005 thus far, a thematic and cultural cautionary tale with an impressive scope, but surprisingly limited poignancy. Here’s a movie filled with meticulous details about horrific situations in the world, all because of a natural resource that tragically links political, economic, and religious beliefs to different people, yet loses the very power and immediacy those details are meant to explore. It’s not often that a film delves into such edgy, realistic material with as much passion and ferocity as Syriana, and while that fearlessness is certainly admirable, writer-director Stephen Gaghan unfortunately loses the visceral emotional impact he’s so determined to accomplish. Gaghan obviously researched this subject with great care since he crams as much information as possible into Syriana’s two hour running time. And while he possesses a greater knowledge of everything regarding the difficulties with oil than most people, his film ends up being a rather standard and predictable check-list of every point he’s trying to make instead of a dramatically piercing whole. It’s not that Gaghan’s views are wrong, (certainly not), but the information and stories that end up on screen are nothing as new or shocking as this film thinks they are. The result is more like a lecture or essay than an intriguing or eye-opening film. Syriana has moments of brilliance scattered throughout a somewhat dry dramatic arc, but unlike the vastly superior thriller The Constant Gardner, it can’t quite reach that emotional core that really makes a difference thematically. This film wants to you leave the theater pondering events in the world, but ultimately gives you nothing more than what you read in the newspaper every day. Now, that’s not a terrible thing, since Gaghan’s ambition and intent are undeniably strong, but it does mean that Syriana as a movie suffers from many of the same issues that plagued the highly overrated Traffic. And while Syriana is a major improvement, it’s still not the complete powerhouse it means to be. It’s not entirely unsuccessful either, because any film with an opinion and intelligence like this is worthy.
Several different stories intercut throughout the picture, some that connect directly, some indirectly. Everything surrounds the greed and consequences of America’s dominance over oil profits and constant misunderstanding and mistreatment of middle-east affairs. Oil is a valuable commodity that causes massive repercussions with middle-east nations and American corporations. It’s a source of corruption, crime, terrorism, and war both abroad and at home. Gaghan impressively tries to cover as much ground as possible by presenting the subject’s many different angles. Syriana is filled with characters and subplots, some very well realized and others under-developed and bland. While each story serves a purpose, that purpose is structured more like bullet-points from Gaghan’s notes than actual filmmaking. Here’s a breakdown of the many angles Gaghan wants to explore.
- Business/Capitalists: The levels of corruption and conniving that occurs when Texas oil-firm Connex merges with a smaller company called Killen, owned by Chris Cooper. Washington Laywer Jeffrey Wright is assigned to help make sure everything goes well for his boss and lobbyist Christopher Plummer. This aspect of the film deals with dirty secrets, negotiations, and ruthless plotting all in the name of profiteering.
-Idealism: Alexander Siddig is Prince Nasir Al-Subaai, a man with strong beliefs that wants to improve his country, but has to struggle with his wealthy father who appoints his unqualified brother for the task. Along the way he picks up energy analyst and family man Matt Damon to be his economic advisor. Damon uses the opportunity of his recently deceased 6 year old son to aid and profit from his new partners. Siddig’s Prince Al-Subaai is a man seeking democracy and stability for his people, and is unafraid to challenge the system that’s destroying it. This is easily the most dramatic and compelling section of Syriana, and worthy of an entire film.
-Politics and Intrigue: CIA agent George Clooney is sent on covert missions throughout the middle-east and reports back to Washington with vital information. When situations thicken, he’s eventually investigated for simply doing his job. This character has an effect on basically every other story in the movie since everything he does is involved with the businesses, politicians, and terrorists at hand.
-Terrorism: Mazhar Munir is an immigrant oil-field worker alongside his father that gets laid off towards the beginning of the film and struggles with poverty and impending deportation. Mazhar and his friend find peace in radical Islamic teachers that offer food and eventually faith and purpose. Gaghan uses this segment to explore the reasoning and understanding of how terrorism is created.
As you can see, Gaghan has a lot on his mind. His passion to present an uncompromising look at the oil ramifications in the world is truly respectable. Each of these sections are well-made and astute. Here’s the problem. The “idealistic” elements of Syriana could of clearly made every single point, considering business, politics, and terrorism are all key factors to that story. Every thematic concept that Gaghan uses another character and story to execute could of been much stronger and potent if he structured the film around that one, single dynamic. That way Syriana would’ve been a much more affecting dramatic whole. The reason The Constant Gardner is so troubling is because it shatters your emotions and forces you to ponder the terrible situations that the more unfortunate people are facing in distant places of the world. That emotional reaction to the characters is what makes it such a striking political statement for a fictional film. Syriana is filled with predictability and characters that do nothing out of the obvious. Many of the circumstances they encounter are exactly what you’d expect from a film like this. This may be a sophisticated movie, but it’s also a terribly dry one.
George Clooney’s character is entirely too obvious. He’s the agent that will obviously become the fall guy for the CIA, have an inevitable change of heart, and try to help the idealists since he’s been abandoned by his own country. Oh, and he’s distant from his son because he can’t tell him what he really does for a living. That very obvious father/son sequence didn’t add any emotional weight to his character, either. And his contact is of course a terrorist that sets him up. This character is so basic for the espionage genre. It’s not that people like this don’t actually exist, it’s just that a film that’s trying to be so important shouldn’t be bothered by such generic formula. This standard approach may allow Gaghan to include as many facts as he wants, but it hurts the actual realism and immediacy of the film. Take for instance the relationship between Jeffrey Wright and his father. It doesn’t add anything interesting to that character’s conflict. It’s there for an emotional connection, but the result feels forced and unnecessary. Plummer’s character is absolutely predictable simply because his casting is so telegraphed. Of course he’s the bastard that’s behind the corruption that affects everyone else. He’s a consultant, lobbyist, and profiteer played by Plummer! Alexander Siddig’s fate is also expected since he’s a character determined to make a difference. He’s after something profound. Of course he’ll be considered a terrorist even though he’s not. Hardly any of the events that unfold carry the shock value they’re striving for because we read about them all the time. Syriana forgets it’s fictitious and suffers because of it. Unloading fact after fact doesn’t result in compelling cinema. The elements that dramatize the political upheaval in a more developed way are the ones that connect on a deeper level. The “terrorism” section works because of this. It’s dramatic. It’s a movie. It makes you consider the confusion and reasoning these young men confront in their lives because it works cinematically. The relationship between Siddig and Damon is effective because it’s given an arc. There’s a an emotional complexity that moves you, and Gaghan deserves credit for building intensity during that story even though you know where it’s headed.
If Gaghan chose one story and dedicated an entire film to it, Syriana would be great. It’s professionally made, and very well acted. Even if many of the characters are one-dimensional pieces of information, the actors do wonderful work. And like I previously stated, ambition is always admirable. Ambition and passion are what make Syriana a good film. Even a flawed work can be quality work. Syriana is the work of a talented filmmaker that didn’t quite reach the importance and power of his subject. It’s a worthwhile venture, but not a significant one.
-Cbabbitt
Wow. See, the great thing about this time of year is that there are so many major films opening, and it’s time to have all these great conversations with other film fans in which you enthusiastically, level-headedly tell them why they’re totally and absolutely wrong. Hehehehehe...
Seriously, though, thanks for the review, Cbabbitt. The film’s open right now in very limited release and will open nationwide in December.
"Moriarty" out.
