Man, I loved this film. Comparison's to DePalma's "Scarface" are dead-on. It's got a similar character dynamic, and the early 90s upper-class wealthy party world of Saddam's Iraq has an awesome Miami-retro vibe. I welcome this kind of film, especially as DePalma seems incapable of being DePalma anymore. It's a rare beast -- a political movie disguised as a gangster exploitation film, and uses violence to illustrate the depravity of dictatorship and a family drunk on its own power.
It's a dynamic, gripping, darkly comic story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Dominic Cooper in two roles -- as psychotic Uday Hussein, and as his hapless double, Latif -- gives career-making performances. Well-shot and well-edited, Tamahori's direction is both appropriate and surprising. The old Tamahori -- the guy who directed the amazing "Once Were Warriors," and the crisply entertaining David Mamet-penned "The Edge" -- is back in form.
I may have to see this again.
It's a dynamic, gripping, darkly comic story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Dominic Cooper in two roles -- as psychotic Uday Hussein, and as his hapless double, Latif -- gives career-making performances. Well-shot and well-edited, Tamahori's direction is both appropriate and surprising. The old Tamahori -- the guy who directed the amazing "Once Were Warriors," and the crisply entertaining David Mamet-penned "The Edge" -- is back in form.
I may have to see this again.