The Devil's Double

What a fantastic depiction of one of the most intriguing sons of a bastard ever there was. Saddam's sons were notorious for their evil, corrupt, and maniacal ways. While in Iraq, I remember working out of locations used by Uday and Qusay (sp?) - next to a lake where the sons allegedly dumped bodies of the people they murdered.Although this was a Hollywood depiction, where everything must be taken with a grain of salt, Dominic Cooper does superbly in his role as both Latif Yahia and Uday Hussein. The real-life dude who was the actual body double supposedly lives in Ireland... or America depending on who you believe. I don't know for sure but this movie offers incredible insight to one of the most insidious people to plague the Iraqi people.I know a lot of people have their opinions regarding America's invasion of Iraq, including the supposed lack of WMDs, but if half of what this guy did was true - the Iraqi people, and the world, are better off without this bad cat. This movie both humanizes Uday and Latif, and provides insight into the atrocities people in power commit when they believe their actions have no consequences.Enjoy. Its worth the price of admission.

Great!

Devil’s Double is based upon a book by an Iraqi man named Latif Yahia who claimed he was a double for Uday Hussein the hated son of Iraq’s dictator Saddam Hussein. Right at the start Latif (Dominic Cooper) finds out what the relationship will be like. He’s thrown in jail and told his entire family will be imprisoned as well unless he agrees to be his double. Uday was also a spoiled, sadistic, rapist, sociopath. That is all portrayed in the movie in sometimes harrowing and graphic scenes. There are some historical events included as well such as when Uday killed his father’s food taster.There’s one main problem with the film. First you can expect the lead in such a Western film to not be an Arab but the second main character isn’t an Arab. Even the man who plays Saddam isn’t an Arab. Only one substantial character is an Arab played by Raad Rawi.On the other hand Cooper does a great job with the role. One minute he’s got to be the devil and the next an innocent.Overall, if you wanted to know why Uday was one of the most hated people in Iraq this movie gives a hint.

Since his very fine portrayal of early English freedom fighter turned Prime Minister James Fox in [damned extraordinary] historic epic THE DUCHESS, I've been a Dominic Cooper loyalist. But, in the immortal utterance of Keanu Reeves: *WHOA!* Because here's an absolute double transformation that few actors ever accomplish...for starters.Right here in THE DEVIL'S DOUBLE you're going to see the kind of gut punch, authentic surrealisme that Tarantino's films, even the greatest of them, have to undergo such visual and narrative distortion to achieve.This is a most bizzarro indie film that one suspects was funded and conceived in a most nontraditional chain of events, and you have to wonder how it might have impacted Mr. Cooper's career arc. That said, Cooper's great here, but you get the sense that it was his own talent, however imperfectly supported by the raw material, that makes this accidental horror film work in ways perhaps best described as "despite itself".Sadaam and his terrible troika of excess --torture and genocide and stolen wealth-- were conceived, installed, and supported by The West in general and the US in particular ...until they weren't, as a nasty, strategic offset to the Saudis. Whenever election time rolls around, just remember, *all that* was architected and supported by, not just the Bush Dynasty of the Presidency, but by Bush senior's what, nearly 40-year control of CIA.I can't imagine what it would've been like to survive under such a regime as Sadaam's, but the side benefit of this otherwise completely weird, inspired-by-true-events film is... that it probably does show a lot of that insane, terrible era. We watch in a couple cases, exactly what happens to transform otherwise highly educated and sane adults into monsters, corpses and shells of humanity. The intervention in a young bride's wedding reception is a close focus of actual events that show how impossible living a normal life was under Sadaam.Here in *our* now, the era of JE SUIS CHARLIE, where Western journalists are assassinated by Islamic fundamentalists, and international freedom of the press is threatened by religious extremists, I've personally come to feel that it's important to remember that Western support of torturing, insane despots like Sadaam is the fertilizer that enhances the rise of --or reversion to-- extreme evil of reactionary religious fundamentalism.

In one of the features in the dvd, I was surprised to hear the director say he went for a fictionalized verson of Uday, yet continually referenced the real person in newsreels, in content, by calling him Uday Hussein in the movie and told of his demise in epilogue. However, at the end of the actual action, I was presented with a scene that appeared to be complete fiction. So, what I saw overall was a good film, but rather confusing in its point. Further the director said he wanted to dig to find out how Saddam Hussein and his wife created such evil as Uday and Qusay, the same idea which drew me to this film in the first place. I kept waiting for some small revelation of how's and why's here, but found none. Instead, Uday is presented as a rather one-dimensional, completely repulsive character, lacking any humanity or any redeeming qualities. Perhaps he was truly like that, but he also likely had more facets than we see in this film.Nevertheless, at the heart of the film is the relationship between Uday and his body double, both played absolutely brilliantly by Dominic Cooper. The interviews with both Dominic Cooper and the real Latif in the extras were absolutely fascinating.There is a lot of graphic violence and sadistic behavior, but I think the director did a great job of restraint in portraying examples of some of Uday's reprehensible acts. The viewer gets it without being abused by the images.Ultimately, this will be one of those movies I have to watch a few times to mine all of what the storyteller is trying to tell me. It's a good film, but at this point, I am just left wanting more...

In some ways it feels like a film from 10 or 20 years earlier - maybe the treatment of a horrible but powerful person is just a bit too glamorous. If this film was made now, the tortures and executions and child rape scenes would be much darker, y'know? The plot has a couple of weaknesses that irritate me, which I won't spoil for you, but most folk would be willing to overlook them. In those respects it reminds me a lot of Behind Enemy Lines (in a slightly different genre). That said, there's shiny camerawork, lavish sets, the cast are capable, and it's all put together fairly well.Looking at it from a different angle: There are lots of navel-gazing Western films about Western soldiers in Iraq, but very few about the terrible things that happened under Saddam Hussein's rule. From that angle, it's a good change.

The Devil's Double is, to put it simply, uninteresting. No two ways about it, there is nothing exciting on show...absolutely nothing. It's not thrilling, it's not funny and it's not dramatic. So what's the point? Based on the true story of Latif who is chosen to be the body double of Saddam Hussein's son, Uday. Obviously, Latif does not have a choice and so he is forced to adjust to a lavish lifestyle of sex, money and power. Problem is, director Lee Tamahori really didn't fully showcase this to its maximum potential. Everything felt restrained and all too familiar. However, there were glimpses of the effects of tyranny. A rather depressing example was when Uday raped a bride in which shortly after she then committed suicide...on her wedding day. That's powerful and the shocking imagery will probably leave you terrified. That's the only time where this 'unlimited' power is fully demonstrated. Several night club scenes where we listen to 80's dance music (including Spin Me Right Round...always a classic), see naked people dance and wave some golden AK47's in the air. It's a lavish lifestyle, yes...but it's never used to enhance the story. It's just an environment to try and shock us. Dominic Cooper is the saviour, his dual performance as both Latif and Uday was electric and refreshing. A rather underrated performance of his. The supporting cast? Forgettable. Instantly. Fortunately the central performance was enough to keep me awake. Tamahori's direction was fine, nothing outstanding but he did the job well. Some of the gory scenes were a tad excessive but does highlight one point: "Don't make Uday angry, and always do what he says". Scenes where he attempts to pick up young girls for sex were unnecessary. Show it once, fine. Show it three times, not fine. We get it, Uday was an awful guy. If the scene wasn't powerful enough first time around, it's not going to be for the third time. The film is fine, it's functional and there are much worse films available. Dominic Cooper was excellent and just about saved an uninteresting film from being bad.

Dominic Cooper was absolutely brilliant in his role as both Uday and Latif. He came across as two very different people. You could feel how trapped Latif felt. The cinematography and scenery was stunning. Latif appeared on 'Banged up Abroad' telling his story and it was almost the same as what had happened in the film except there was no woman he escaped with. The true life ending was a little different to way the film portrayed it.

Very good film with some uncomfortable scenes, violence and nudity, and an excellent performance from Dominic Cooper.Blu-ray extras a little disappointing.

I first saw this movie by chance when it aired on UK BBC. I liked the advert and the hype around it ...not to mention the lead actor Dominic Cooper. This is a smaller budgeted film (small if you compare to Hollywood blockbusters) but it was well acted and gave an insight into how things may have been back then. Its based on a true story but you can make up for yourself which sections you believe to be true. I liked the actors and director commentary in the added bonus pack. One of the gangster flicks genre.