PLOT: Before it comes together at the tragic climax, you must pay close attention to a complexity of parallel plots involving personal trauma, oil industry corruption, Washington intrigue, spy action and Middle East terrorism.
A gripping thriller, a labyrinth of parallel plots, a moral message movie and a brutally realistic action picture -- Stephen Gaghan's drama Syriana is all that and more.
Although it is one of the best films of 2005, it will be a miracle if it becomes a mainstream success because this kind of movie is not supposed to be comfort food for the masses.
The film is so complex that a bathroom break or a two-minute nap could throw you so off track that you won't know what the hell is going on.
And, in the morally murky world of oil, Congress, the C.I.A., Hezbollah, Arab sheikdoms and the madrassa schools that "educate" Middle East suicide bombers, there is no protagonist to love, respect and root for.
In fact, the most sympathetic characters are two Pakistani Muslims who lose their jobs in the oilfields because of geo-political machinations. Vulnerable, confused and desperate, they are sucked into the fantaticism of a cell of terrorists who train suicide bombers. We see just how easy that process is when the targeted people are disadvantaged.
The next most charismatic figure is an Arab prince (Alexander Siddig from Kingdom Of Heaven) who is considered an enemy of the U.S. because he is a liberal reformer who won't sell out his unnamed country to Big Oil.
As for the many movie stars in the stellar ensemble, George Clooney is fattened up by 30 pounds to play a C.I.A. agent -- hardly a sexy role. Matt Damon looks normal but plays a U.S. financial consultant who uses the accidental death of his own son to leverage a lucrative inside job with the prince. Amanda Peet plays his disgusted wife.
Other key players include Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson and Christopher Plummer, the latter in a beautifully orchestrated performance as a Washington lawyer specializing in the Middle East. His savagery is awe-inspiring -- and distressing because it is so real.
Particular credit also goes to Jeffrey Wright (Angels In America) for his astringent work as an ambitious and manipulative lawyer in Plummer's firm.
It is pointless to try to explain how all these pieces interlock in Gaghan's sensational screenplay, which was loosely inspired by See No Evil, the controversial book by former C.I.A. field agent Robert Baer (who is played, in a fictional way, by Clooney). Syriana is even more ambitious and complicated than Gaghan's Oscar-winning script for Traffic, which Steven Soderbergh directed (he is the co-executive producer here with Clooney).
The complexity of the material demands attention. Take mental notes. Even at the end, moral ambiguity is not explained away. There are no heroic, save-the-day Superman stunts to let us feel good about the world.
Instead, we grapple with "the truth" of a dirty, conflicted, warring world in which the powerful exploit the weak. Syriana does not answer your concerns, it asks pointed questions. That is what great art should do.
But that also means this is caustic drama, not easy escapism. It is the counterpoint to Soderbergh/Clooney fluff like Ocean's Eleven and watching Syriana will add stress, not relieve it. I think that is exciting. Still, enter at your own risk.
BOTTOM LINE: Stephen Gaghan's brilliant political thriller is a hugely challenging film for audiences willing to invest in a film with a social conscience. A large ensemble cast led by George Clooney is uniformly terrific.
(This film is rated 14-A)
