syriana review

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Average Ratings

Value for Money	8/10
Overall rating	7.3/10

75% Recommended3 out of 4 Reviews

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By Timix1 on 12th Feb 2006

Timix1's Ratings

Starring Actor/Actress	George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright
Where Did You See It?	Cinema
Value for money	7/10
Overall value	7/10
Timix1's recommendation

Good Points

Great cast; absorbing, thought-proving material...

Bad Points

...that's also a bit of a head-scratcher. The script's untidy narrative can be distracting.

General Comments

Critics are heatedly split on this one: some hail it as one of the year's best films, while others have reserved a spot for it on their 'Worst of 2005' lists. My own opinion of SYRIANA falls somewhere in the middle. Written and directed by Stephen Gaghan (the Oscar-winning writer of 2000's drug-themed TRAFFIC), this film is an often-gripping look at America's growing thirst for Middle Eastern oil. Its Altman-esque structure - i.e. several interweaving plot lines and characters telling the same basic story - is very similar to that of TRAFFIC (not to mention last year's CRASH). When done right, this kind of film makes for a compelling night at the movies; examples are the aforementioned TRAFFIC and 1999's magnificent MAGNOLIA.

For its part, SYRIANA doesn't quite live up to its lofty ambitions. On the plus side, it has a great ensemble cast working for it, led by a never-better George Clooney as a rebel CIA agent, and the subject matter couldn't be more relevant. Some of the individual stories are outstanding; its sympathetic portraits of Middle Eastern life - one involves unemployed, disenfranchised young men being slowly drawn towards what they believe to be a noble cause; the other focuses on an embattled, moderate prince (Alexander Siddig) struggling to modernize his oil-rich country without having to kowtow to America's every demand - are Hollywood's best attempts at exploring the complexities of Middle Eastern affairs in recent memory. Unfortunately, the film's muddled, overly complex narrative proved to be a serious distraction for me at times. Maybe it speaks to my own dimwittedness, but I found myself struggling at times to figure out who certain people were and what role they played in the proceedings. By the end of the film, it all mostly makes sense, but my overall response to the film was somewhat muted by my earlier bouts of head-scratching.

Still, it's one of the most hotly discussed flicks of the last few months, and while it's not necessarily greater than the some of its parts, it's worthy of a look.

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