The author's action fantasy of the director Lee Tamahori “The Devil's Double” (front-end actors: D. Cooper, L. Sagnier, R. Ravi, F. Cuest) is a provocative biographical thriller on a political theme that does not lose its topicality.
Cinema on a sore subject
New Zealand stage director Lee Tamahori became famous in the early 2000s as the creator of dynamic, exciting and rather tough paintings - the last (very profitable) series of the bond “Die, but Not Now” and the thriller “And the Spider Came”. After a resounding success, he shot two medium-sized action movies that went unnoticed by the viewer, but critics smashed them to pieces, thereby putting an end to Tamahaori's Hollywood career. And then the director comes up with the idea to shoot the film “The Devil’s Double” about the life of Saddam Hussein’s son. No one suspected how difficult the process of creating the tape would be.
Continuous problems
Problems with financing the film “The Devil’s Double” (actors and roles were selected for each other within the framework of a meager budget) did not allow the filming process to begin for several years. The script based on the memoirs of Latif Yahya, who was a double of the Black Prince (Hussein's son), was written by screenwriter Michael Thomas in record time. But since the plot did not fit into the stereotype of American cinema on the Iraqi theme, and the declining rating of the director did not favor funding, the shooting did not begin for 10 years. In the end, cash ($ 19.1 million) was found in Belgium. It was not possible to remove a cool blockbuster with famous stars in the lead roles and a lot of special effects for this amount. Therefore, the creators decided to try their hand at the psychological genre, especially since the subject turned out to be suitable. So an extravagant thriller appeared, more similar to a terrible tale - “The Devil's Double”. The actors involved in the project are little known to the general public.
Halftone
As it turned out, psychology is not the strongest point of director Tamahori. The actors of the film “Devil's Double” said that they were shocked by the episodes that they had played. The director demanded blood flows and hard naturalism in the frame (apparently out of habit). Developing the characters' characters, he rigidly, without half-tones, set accents. The leading actor (Udea and Latif) Dominic Cooper, whose double acting is one of the main successes of the film, barely managed to undergo metamorphoses of the image. The actors and the roles of the film “The Devil's Double” are sure to be remembered by the viewer. Who can leave Uday indifferent, who went to the movies as a dark demon, or Latif - cute, white and fluffy? Such a contrast will surely surprise the viewer, and the events unfolding in the picture are shocking.
Acting casting. Cooper
Thriller "The Devil's Double" the actors taking part in the filming, called an excellent biopic about the eldest son of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. The most prominent casting actor is Dominic Cooper, an English actor who began his professional career on television and acted in films exclusively in episodic roles. The situation radically changed in 2001, the actor is cast in a secondary role in the film "From Hell" and the creators of world-famous paintings pay attention to him. Now Cooper's filmography has exceeded 30 films, but not one of the roles played, according to the actor, could be compared in complexity to the double work in the Tamahori project. It’s not easy to play two looks that are similar only in appearance, differing in the timbre of voice, facial expressions, bite; here you need a true dramatic talent for reincarnation. But Cooper did an excellent job.
Fatal woman and supporting actors
The French theater and film actress Ludivine Sagnier has a decent experience, her filmography is significant in the number of paintings, and the images are multifaceted and diverse. In Tamahori's work, she played the role of a lover of leopard outfits, a fatal woman in the life of the main characters - Sarrab. Not all film critics were supportive, appreciating the efforts of the actress, for many she seemed an inactive or completely useless element in the movie "The Devil's Double." Sanya's teammates on the set were surprised at such a verdict of critics, noting the professionalism of Ludivin.
The rest of the actors, who embodied the secondary and episodic characters, perfectly revealed the characteristics of their heroes. And for this, sometimes a couple of minutes of screen time was enough for them, their actions spoke more eloquently than any emotional words. For example, the episodic Hussein Sr. (Philip Tail), thanks to the efforts of the actor, appears before the viewer as a quick-tempered, but not deprived of wisdom, family patriarch, suffering from the shame that a fool son brings down on his gray head.
Plot
After surviving the war in Kuwait, Iraqi officer Latif Yakiy (Dominic Cooper) returns home to Baghdad. There, an offer awaits him, which he cannot refuse. Saddam Hussein 's eldest son Uday (again Cooper), a former Latif classmate, chooses the unfortunate young man to be his double. The guys really have similarities, everything else is planned to be corrected by resorting to the help of a plastic surgeon. Latif receives all the elements of the necessary surroundings - suits and jewelry from well-known brands, but his job responsibilities are quite troublesome. Having barely survived the assassination attempt, Yakiy thinks of an escape, circumstances are complicated by his sympathies for the favorite of the son of Hussein, the girl, as they say, with the difficult fate of Sarrab (Ludivin Sagnier). However, the romantic line in the tape turned out to be quite unconvincing. The story’s intrigue is fully ensured by the figure of the odious son of Hussein.
History tour
It is impossible to unambiguously judge the historical authenticity of the events described in the film, most likely, the scriptwriters allowed themselves excessive liberties. In general, the project looks worthy, monolithic, without annoying sagging plot and without disappointing failures. The acting group plays at the level, the operator’s work is virtually impeccable, the musical accompaniment is in harmony with the storyline, the story is unbanal and boldly presented. A movie is worth watching, if only for general development and, of course, in order to admire the brilliant metamorphoses of the Cooper chameleon.