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Yalanlar Üstüne

Body of Lies

Movie · 2008 · 4 people

Ridley Scott directed Body of Lies (released in Turkey as Yalanlar Üstüne), an American spy thriller of 2008. Adapted by William Monahan from the 2007 novel by Washington Post journalist David Ignatius. Scott Free Productions made it and Warner Bros. released it in the United States on 10 October 2008; Türkiye followed on 19 December. It runs 128 minutes, and its tagline was "Trust no one. Deceive everyone."

The story is set in the Middle East. The CIA and Jordanian intelligence are trying to catch a terrorist leader called Al-Saleem, and their differing methods, plus the target's elusiveness, strain the alliance. Leonardo DiCaprio plays CIA field operative Roger Ferris, caught between his Washington superior and Jordan's intelligence chief. Russell Crowe takes the Washington side and Mark Strong leads the Jordanians; Golshifteh Farahani and Oscar Isaac appear. The script probes Western-Arab tension and technological versus human counter-intelligence.

Shooting began in September 2007 and ended in December, mostly in the United States and Morocco, after Dubai refused permission over the script's political themes. Marc Streitenfeld composed the score. Critics praised Scott's direction and the two leads but found the storytelling formulaic. On a budget of roughly $67.5-70 million the film grossed about $119 million worldwide.

DirectorRidley Scott
Production companyScott Free Productions
Body of Lies Body of Lies

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Cast

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Clara Khoury Clara Khoury Actor · 49 years old Lubna Azabal Lubna Azabal Actor · 53 years old Russell Crowe Russell Crowe Actor · 62 years old Ali Süleyman Actor · 49 years old

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Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

A Ridley Scott spy thriller sets the bar high, and this one mostly keeps its pace. DiCaprio's field agent is always caught in the crossfire, and that tension rarely lets up. The tug-of-war between Crowe on the Washington side and Mark Strong's Jordanian chief grabbed me as much as the action did. At 128 minutes it runs a bit long and the middle gets talky, but it holds you to the end.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Scott's visual signature is all over this one: the Middle Eastern settings, the distance between the agent on the ground and the boss far away, and an editing rhythm that cuts cleanly between those two worlds. The contrast between DiCaprio and Crowe is the film's load-bearing wall, and Mark Strong's restrained turn keeps the balance. The trouble is William Monahan's script: it poses an interesting question about technology versus human intelligence, then surrenders to the genre's familiar moulds. The characters too often remain carriers of ideas, and the tension loses its dramatic weight. It is easy to see why critics found the story formulaic. Skilfully made, but short on surprise.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film uses a spy story to examine the mistrust between Western and Arab societies. Its most interesting thread is how the CIA and Jordanian intelligence chase the same target by different means, one trusting technology, the other human relationships. That split also exposes the uneven balance of power between allies. Still, the people of the region mostly stay in the background; the point of view is clearly the American agent's. That Dubai refused permission to film because of the script's political subject matter says a lot about how sensitive the ground is.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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