Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.

Director Ridley Scott is a machine. The man cranks out a movie ever year or two, and almost without fail they are well worth watching. He's also a man who loves to take often-complicated stories and tell them in a way that to some degree makes sense. Oh, and he likes to blow shit up. Well, with BODY OF LIES he gets to do all of these things and produce a cynical and smart look at the way America does business in the Middle East. In many ways, the film reminded me of a less-complicated version of Syriana, complete with a marquee-topping actor (in this case Russell Crowe in his fourth collaboration with Scott) gaining lots of weight to underscore what Scott and screenwriter William (THE DEPARTED) Monahan see as America's brassy, pushy, bullying ways in foreign lands.

Playing his supremely effective version of an antihero (as he's done before in BLOOD DIAMOND and THE DEPARTED, to name a couple), Leonardo DiCaprio is Roger Ferris, a CIA operative/"political advisor" working anywhere in the Middle East he is required. Ferris has clearly spent an inordinate amount of time learning the cultures in which he works and the intricacies of each government, so he can work in both overt and covert manners to achieve and protect U.S. goals. He spends most of the film in Jordan in pursuit of a top terrorist leader hiding in the kingdom. His relationship with Crowe's Ed Hoffman, a stateside CIA man (the two are rarely on screen together as they communicate primarily by cell phone), is abrasive at best, but the two clearly form a perfect union of brains, brawn and resources to make most missions play out exactly how they plan them. Overplaying slightly with his heavy Southern accent and protruding belly, Crowe (DiCaprio's co-star from 1995's THE QUICK AND THE DEAD) is actually tons of fun to watch fast-talk and run circles around his man in the field. We trust nothing that Hoffman says, and much of the film is a guessing game to see how he'll screw up Ferris' mission. Their interplay is often confounding but never boring.

Scott's secret weapon in BODY OF LIES is British actor Mark Strong, who plays Hani, the head of the Jordanian secret police. I feel the need to point out that he's British because I think anyone watching this movie would assume he's actually an actor of Middle Eastern decent. He's unbelievably good here in his scene assisting and guiding DiCaprio through the labyrinth that is Jordanian culture. Even in not-so-great movies, Strong has always risen above, making memorable supporting appearances in such films as SYRIANA, SUNSHINE, STARDUST, and MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY. And looking at his list of upcoming projects, you get sense that the man is about to deservedly break through in a big way very soon. For me, this is the role that does that. Hani is impossible to read, smarter and better informed than anyone else in the room, knows exactly when to utilize the many resources at his disposal, and can accurately predict how his friends and enemies will respond to every move he makes. And somehow we know this just from watching Strong's performance. He's the scene-stealer who isn't trying to steal the scene (unlike Crowe, for example).

I should also give credit to Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who plays a nurse taking care of Ferris. He falls for her, but the culture dictates the course and manner of their courtship. Even an attempt to shake her hand in public must be rebuffed. It's an interesting and welcome softening of DiCaprio's character, but we ultimately know that his enemies will exploit the relationship.

BODY OF LIES has a complicated but not impenetrable plot about the pursuit of this top terrorist. I wouldn't recommend a bathroom break during the film for fear of missing a key piece of information, but beyond that, I think a reasonably intelligent person will be able to keep up. Scott may pack one too many action sequence in the film, but he stages them so beautifully, you can't stay mad at him. The performances are all staggeringly good, although Crowe comes dangerously close to parody. There's a sequence where Hoffman flies to Jordan to meet Hani to discuss a resource Hani has in the terrorist organization. Hoffman wants access to this insider and he won't leave until Hani agrees. We already know how the scenario is going to play out, so it feels a bit extraneous and unnecessary to let the scene play for as long as it does, when clearly it's just another excuse to let Crowe ham it up and play the quintessential asshole, which he does remarkably well. But even Crowe's slight overacting isn't enough to sink this ship. DiCaprio is too good as the worn-out, wavering centerpiece, while Strong continues to impress me as the film unexpected anchor. If you'd rather not turn your brain off at the box office, BODY OF LIES is best movie opening this weekend.

-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com