The Devil's Double (2011)

Truly Dreadful Film

Pretty Good

Good movie but grossly overrated

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Well, I'm astonished!I had wanted to watch this movie since a long time ago, but I only did it today. I couldn't be more satisfied. "The Devil's Double" tells the story of Latif Yahia an Iraqi-born Lieutanent who due to his resemblance with Sadam Hussein's eldest son, Uday, becomes his double (Fiday). I must say that Dominic Cooper has became one of my favourite actors. Since I saw him in "Fleming" I knew he was very talented and since then I started following is career closely. So, I went back to watch this 2011 flick directed by Lee Tamahori - known for directing one of the worst Bond Movies "Die Another Day"(although I rather liked it)- and I must say it is awesome. The movie itself has a 80'S vibe that I loved. It is full of color and sound which makes it much more credible. But what really blew my away was Cooper's performance. He does not only plays Latif in a very credible away but he also steals the movie with his portray of Uday. The two characters are so different that I thought it was impossible to him to do it. But since the beginning I was lead to think that there were two actors on screen and not just one. That, my friend, is the moment when you realise that he just did it superbly. The rest of the cast was unknown to me, but still delivered good performances. I'm just disappointed that the movie only made $1,361,512 on U.S. because it surely deserved a bigger box office. To you, dear reader, I just have to say to watch the movie. It certainly is worthwhile and can give a bit more of insight on the backstage of the Iraqian war.

I got this film for my birthday and I have now seen this film and it is a good solid interesting gangster film. This film sees Saddam Hussein's son who needs a double forcing his double to live his outrageous crazy lifestyle. Now Dominic Cooper plays both young Hussein and latif the man forced to be his double and this performance shows just how good an actor Cooper is. First of all he thrives in the craziness that Hussein is and he makes the character into a crazy some time cartooney character that disturbs you every time you see him on screen. Meanwhile latif is a character who you end up caring about and feel sorry for him as he is put into uncomfortable positions that nobody would want to ever be put in. This film is at its best when it focuses on these two characters and nobody else matters in this film with the film thriving when the conflict happens between the two. The story again is at its best when the conflict is high between the two and focuses on the dynamic between the two characters and how it works. The story does get a point off because it goes off the rails towards the end and focuses on things that aren't important like a predictable love triangle. The script has some dramatic and crazy dialogue but sometimes it goes too far with the craziness and you don't care about what is being said by the characters. The style of the gangster lifestyle is pretty good but sometimes there are just forced violence or nudity and sometimes I think in films like this it is just forced and doesn't feel like it fits for the film. Overall this film is good and enjoyable it doesn't hit the political ideas but it is still a good solid movie to watch if you like gangster films.

The Devil's Double. Based on the book written by a soldier who was forced to become Saddam Hussain's son's double in the times of America - Iraq war over Kuwait. The movie gives you good insight into the spoiled son's lavish and insane life and how his double, our hero never finds himself ready to lead his kind of life. An earthy Dominic Cooper plays both parts effortlessly. As Saddam's son Uday, he makes you hate him and as the double Latif he make you care for him with ease. As a bonus, you get to see Saddam Hussain's character playing some key scenes which leaves you wanting for more. Being based on a real story, however movie gets a bit melodramatic at moments but drama and performances keep you engaged. I am going with good 7 out of 10 for The Devil's Double. Movie never tries to go into the deep of war times but makes an engaging watch over playing a devil's double.

I did not expect to enjoy this film. I decided to give it a go as a way of increasing my knowledge of the world and recent past events (or rather decreasing my ignorance), but then got so much more out of it.The basic premise reminded me of The Parent Trap. Not so surprisingly, however, Cooper does a much better job than Lohan of keeping each character distinct. Our warmth towards Latif grows in the same measure as our disgust towards Uday.The only difficulty characterwise is in understanding why Uday behaves the way he does. But I guess this is what makes us hate him rather than pity him. The fact that he's a complete mamma's boy is a nice touch, however, and adds a little bit more texture to the character.Like The Parent Trap, there's some mild humour running through. Unlike The Parent Trap, the violence is anything but mild.So by the end of the film I have fulfilled my objectives of learning more about the world (Iraq-Kuwait war, Hussein family) and seen a moving film with good characters in the bargain.