Review of Syriana (2005) by Luke R — 04 May 2014

A highly underrated masterpiece, Syriana is an ambitious and complicated but a very rewarding political thriller, and a truly harrowing depiction of the oil business and its ruthlessness. Writer Stephen Gaghan's directorial debut bears a strong resemblance to Steven Soderbergh's equally magnificent "Traffic" (which was also written by Gaghan), but unlike Soderbergh's drug trade drama, Syriana is a much more demanding film.

With four different storylines but only a running time of two hours, the film moves at a very rapid pace, doesn't thrash out all the plot twists and turns and never resorts to spoon-feding or exposition, which means that one has to concentrate closely on the story, and possibly see the film multiple times (which was exactly my case with the film).

But it is totally worth it, even though the plot's complexity may seem deliberate and frustrating at first. The film has a large cast, but due to the fast pace, none of them really get to shine; but considering how restrictedly each one of them gets screen time, it's astonishing how much they get out of their roles.

George Clooney, Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Siddig, and Chris Cooper, in particular, deliver memorable performances. Alexandre Desplat's haunting score also greatly adds to the film. Syriana may have some flaws of which filmmakers' debuts always suffer, but all in all this is a glorious achievement and a very timely film.