Syriana

Syriana

From writer/director Stephen Gaghan, winner of the Best Screenplay Academy Award for Traffic, comes Syriana, a political thriller that unfolds against the intrigue of the global oil industry. From the players brokering back-room deals in Washington to the men toiling in the oil fields of the Persian Gulf, the film’s multiple storylines weave together to illuminate the human consequences of the fierce pursuit of wealth and power. As a career CIA operative (George Clooney) begins to uncover the disturbing truth about the work he has devoted his life to, an up-and-coming oil broker (Matt Damon) faces an unimaginable family tragedy and finds redemption in his partnership with an idealistic Gulf prince (Alexander Siddig). A corporate lawyer (Jeffrey Wright) faces a moral dilemma as he finesses the questionable merger of two powerful U.S. oil companies, while across the globe, a disenfranchised Pakistani teenager (Mazhar Munir) falls prey to the recruiting efforts of a charismatic cleric. Each plays their small part in the vast and complex system that powers the industry, unaware of the explosive impact their lives will have upon the world.

Syriana has an amazingly high rating on IMDB. And not just there but most of the reviews I have read agree.

While I don’t agree totally with this high rating, I will agree that Syriana by concept and storyline is an excellent movie. It touches on a very core topic namely USA in the middle east and oil.

It also comes at a very controversial time considering the recent war in Iraq and the past war in Afghanistan (both of which I do not wish to debate about).

Unfortunately, Syriana turned out to be a very slow movie. It really requires a lot of patience to sit through two hours and I was very tempted many times to just get up and walk out. Why didn’t I? Probably because I wanted to know how it would end.

The acting of all the main characters wasn’t very impressing. Even George Clooney failed to excite. And Matt Damon doesn’t seem to fit in as an oil-broker.

The story line has several parallel plots which are all deeply interlinked. But they do tend to make the movie really confusing at times as I struggled to keep up with the story line.

And for those who wonder what Syriana is, well Syriana is a term used by Washington think-tanks to describe a hypothetical re-shaping of the Middle East.

My rating: 6/10

Liked this article? Stay in touch with us! Don't forget to Stumble It!
Grab the site feed or add to your Technorati favs.