Devil's Double (2011)

Before talking about the film itself, an acknowledgement should go to director Lee Tamahori for making a film about Iraq. Many directors would take one look at a story involving Iraq, particularly one that closely involved the Hussein family, and say thanks, but no thanks, before hailing the nearest cab. This film is, if nothing else, a brave move on a narrative front.

The Devil’s Double firmly hangs on one actor and two performances: those of Dominic Cooper who plays both Iraqi Lieutenant: Latif Yahia and Hussien’s rather unhinged son: Uday Hussein. Latif enters a living nightmare when he is forced to play a body double for the insane Uday who has no gripes about taking what he wants, when he wants it and will gladly kill anyone who gets in his way. Although this film is not without its problems, amongst them: Uday seems to be dating a woman who inspired some of Lady Gaga’s less-inspired looks, Cooper is fantastic in both roles and, if there’s any justice, these performance will put him in high Hollywood demand.

Tamahori has approached this film in pretty much the same way he approached all of his other films. The soundtrack is loud and boasts some of the biggest hits of the 80’s (including Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood), it’s a bit of a strange feeling to think about a mass murderer like Uday getting down to a bit of ‘You spin me right round’ on a Friday night. The action is violent and frequent and often far too gratuitous. One scene in particular involving a newlywed is probably the most disturbing you’ll see this summer (unless you watched The Zookeeper). Certainly not for the squeamish this film feels a bit like watching an MTV-produced film about the Gulf War with The Hussein family being turned into pimping gangsters that wouldn’t look out of place in a Scorsese film.

Those expecting The Devil’s Double to provide an eloquent history lesson should know that politics of the early 90’s are of little interest here. The Gulf War is nothing more than a lurid backdrop to the darker side of Iraq: one that’s full of drugs, pimps and young prostitutes. The ending to this picture is also decidedly flat and Cooper’s Gaga-esque love interest (played by Ludivine Sagnier), well, isn’t of any interest at all. This said until its less-than-exhilarating conclusion Tamahori’s film never lets you up for breath, constantly putting you on edge whenever Uday is on screen and leaving you in perpetual doubt over what he’s going to do next. For hard-core film fans Cooper’s performances are worth the ticket price and if gratuity is your thing then I’ve no doubt that you’ll find it brutally entertaining throughout.