Review #319: 'The Devil's Double' (2011)

Latif Yahia (Dominic Cooper) is a patriotic Iraqi soldier who finds himself brought in by Uday Hussein (also Cooper), a former classmate and son of Saddam to whom he bears an uncanny resemblance. Uday wants him to become his body double to protect him from potentially dangerous situations, and make appearances while Uday indulges in women, drink and drugs. Latif refuses, only to be tortured and beaten until he agrees. After undergoing some minor plastic surgery and given some fake teeth, Latif shadows Uday and realises he is an absolute psychopath, raping and murdering women as well as torturing anyone who challenges or opposes him. Uday's mistress Sarrab (Ludivine Sagnier), tired of Uday's unpredictable nature and wild behaviour, shows interest in Latif, and the two start a dangerous affair.

The story of Latif Yahia has been dubbed dubious by various investigative journalists due to inconsistencies in his stories and claims by associates of Uday Hussein's that he never used body doubles. That aside, it makes for a quite fascinating story, if a not wholly believable one. Instead of fashioning a serious film about one of the key figures in the troubled and violent recent history of Iraq, director Lee Tamahori (whose recent films include the shitty Bond film Die Another Day (2002) and Nicolas Cage vehicle Next (2007)) has made a gangster film. It plays out like Scarface in Baghdad, and is full of violence, drugs and women, and all but ignores the political and social aspects. It's the main problem with the film, as although this has the potential to be a very good film, the execution is that seen a thousand times before in the gangster genre. In the hands of someone like David Fincher or Michael Mann, this could have been something much more.

However, the film has a trump card in the form of lead Dominic Cooper, who juggles dual roles with apparent ease. I've never been his biggest fan (he's hardly been stretched in his career), but he shows here that he has leading man qualities. Although his portrayal of Uday is wildly over-the-top to the point of a cartoon character sometimes, it's clearly as the director intended, and he switches from the brooding Latif to the psychopathic Uday effortlessly. So whether you believe the story or not (I don't), it makes for an entertaining, if deeply flawed, film, and Uday Hussein proves a terrifying madman, especially given that he was very real (before US forces killed him in 2003).


Directed by: Lee Tamahori
Starring: Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Raad Rawi
Country: Belgium/Netherlands

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie