Syriana

Syriana (Director: Stephen Gaghan)













SYRIANA won 1 Oscar:

Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney

Gaghan won the Best Adapted Screenplay for 2000's Traffic, which led to the inexplicable directorial debut Abandon (Katie Holmes/Benjamin Bratt...remember that flick?). Other writing gigs include "NYPD Blue" and films Rules of Engagement and The Alamo. Adapted by Gaghan from former CIA guy Robert Baer's book See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism, this film was produced in part by Traffic director Steven Soderbergh and star George Clooney.

Yes, it's complicated. Even the screenplay calls for people to say, "It's complex." But complicated isn't a bad thing unless it's dull. I have read reviews of this movie, usually a no-no for me, that indicate it's too complicated for its own good and therefore, you might not want to see it. But then, I wonder, what was all the praise being heaped on Traffic, then? Traffic is a movie I appreciated more with an extra viewing, and some movies demand that sort of attention. This is another one.

The plot is difficult to condense, but I will try. First, Bob Barnes (Clooney) is a CIA operative who kills guys in the Middle East that the government considers bad. This creates a conflict with people at home and abroad, and he has to figure out why he's suddenly being investigated. Second, there's a huge oil company merger in the U.S. (one of the heads is played by Chris Cooper) that is set up to try to outbid a Chinese consortium in the attempt to buy a rich oil field in the Middle East owned by the wealthy Emir Hamed Al-Subaii (Nadim Sawalha). Third, there's oil broker Bryan Woodman (Matt Damon) who is trying to go into business with the Emir's son, Prince Nasir Al-Subaii (Alexander Siddig), who is a target of the U.S. government for assassination and is being considered to be a possible successor to the throne along with his brother.

Fourth, there's laid-off oil workers (due to the merger) who join a terrorist mosque. Fifth, there's attorney Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey Wright in his second great performance of the year after Broken Flowers), who knows of illegal overseas dealings that have created the opportunity for the big U.S. oil companies--his job is to find a fall guy to make the appearance that the U.S. ferrets out impropriety, while at the same time keeping the merger in place and keeping the deal in the Middle East intact. After that? There's a ton of other characters in here, and then there's the matter of family problems for all these people, too. I'll keep those out of this review for your own discovery.

I didn't know what was going on at all times, but I basically got it, and it was riveting, and this movie demands multiple viewings, as I said earlier. If Jeffrey Wright doesn't get nominated for either this or Broken Flowers, then he will be this year's Paul Giamatti. Clooney and Damon bring their presences to this movie, and they pull off professional performances if not outstanding ones. And this story is so rich with thought, not once pulling out political leanings to smother you with, "Republicans and corporations are bad!" Even when it focuses on the terror aspect, it's very even. And for that, the filmmakers are to be greatly commended, because I was expecting to see some abusive liberal conjecture.

This movie probably doesn't have a chance in hell to succeed, but it should. And that's all I gotta say.