A Review by Phil Calabro
2005, Warner Brothers, Dir. Stephen Gaghan - Starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Siddig, Christopher Plummer, Amanda Peet, Chris Cooper, Nicky Henson, Amr Waked, Mazhur Munir, Nadim Sawalha, Max Minghella, Thomas McCarthy
As I watched 'The Constant Gardener' earlier this year, the same concepts of 'Syriana' existed. The topic of global corruption throughout major corporations was supposed to be the focus, but ended up being one of the many missed targets through the whole fiasco. I had begun to dread watch Stephen Gaghan's new movie, especially because the ghosts of the year's first political thriller continued to haunt me, but then Ghostbusters broke into the scene and gave them a swift roundhouse kick to the face. Say goodbye to mind-numbing stylistic features that diluted 'Gardener', and say goodbye to the hectic and spiraling topics that plagued it as well. 'Syriana' is not only a step above, it proves to be one of the strongest, most detailed, and most intriguing art thrillers I've seen in awhile. Don't let yourself think that the director and writers are jumping too high on their soap box - 'Syriana' is a focused and feral picture that takes the audience to the metaphorical and literal pipelines of universal trade, corruption, oil, and greed.
Forgive me if I create confusion typing out the multivarious plotlines that coexist in this picture, but it's important for one to not automatically find connections between the characters, but let them collide in good time. Robert Barnes (Clooney) is a CIA operative working whose expertise ranges through several Middle East sieges, and he is sent to assassinate a prince-turned-terrorist who could potentially attack the US. This prince, Nasir Al-Subaai (Siddig), is also a young revolutionary in the sense that he wants to rebuild his country - giving women full rights, creating a safer atmosphere, and not budging for the business propositions of American oil companies. Bennett Holiday (Wright) is a lawyer working for oil magnate Sydney Hewitt (Henson), who's been embattled nemesises Jimmy Pope (Cooper) and Leland Janus (Peter Gerety) in the petroleum race. And meanwhile, Bryan Woodman (Damon) is a freelance advisor located in Geneva, and gives Nasir possible business methods to double his profits. The film tornadoes into the greed and avarice between nations over simple crude oil.
It's fair to say that all the actors give wonderful performances, but it's truly hard to put the finger on the creme de la creme. George Clooney pulls of the inspirational and very sympathetic role of Bob Barnes, a fictional version of real CIA agent Bob Baer, who co-wrote the script. Clooney represents the blue-collar American, who has expertise in fast talking but would rather play legitimately than against international law. When Bob runs against America's orders, he goes vigilante to find the truth. Alex Siddig masters the young emirate role of Nasir Al-Subaai, an educated leader whose reform policies are meant to create opposition for the slovenly emirs that currently rule his homeland. Instead of corporate globalization, Nasir wants to concentrate on rebuilding the country's national identity instead. Siddig satisfies with his level-minded nature and his soft-spoken revolt against his father's faulty kingship. Jeffrey Wright is spectacular as the fast-talking but quick-witted investigative lawyer for the apparent merger between two oil companies. But his winning touch is his steady development into the corrupt business itself. Matt Damon is decent in the role of Bryan Woodman, a greed-driven and capitalizing smooth talker who has a penchant for making deals and plowing money from it.
The screenplay is written in order to either evolutionize or de-evolutionize all of the prominent characters. Bob Barnes, Bryan Woodman, and Nasir are all finally recognizing the nihilistic qualities of their jobs and roles. Instead of going with the corporate and patriotic flow, they realize how demented and braindead they've become after latching upon their careers all their lives. Bob cannot speak for himself, and is instead investigated for false charges that he negotiates with terrorist leaders. Bryan has capitalized off his own misfortunes (when his son dies in the emir's pool, and is paid for forgiveness fees) and he learns that his job is creating a rift between himself and his family. Nasir finds that letting America have its way is going to lead to no progress whatsoever, leaving the oil companies to profit from their resources, and leaving the Middle East in a chaotic and backward mess. Bennett decides to cash in on the investigative case, to capitalize himself from someone else's lack of trust. 'Syriana' creates the concept of a balance, for man to create and destroy the world he's given, but only if he remains in a fail-safe position either way. Profit, monopoly, and future wealth flutter amongst the fat cat's minds - there is no room for progress when the richest are already well off.
Stephen Gaghan penned the winner 'Traffic', and now he has created a modern counterpart with the post-9/11 thriller 'Syriana'. It seems like the struggle for money or truth will continue to rage on - let's just Gaghan doesn't have to write 'Apocalypse' as his next movie.
