Review of Syriana (2005) by Cory W — 12 Jul 2010

This is a wonderful example of an ironic political drama. While watching "Syriana", I found myself having a difficult time following the many story arcs the film was throwing out. One moment, George Clooney is off doing something, then Matt Damon is doing something, and then Jeffery Wright is doing something, and they hey look, Chris Cooper, Tim Blake Nelson, and Christopher Plummer are doing something.

It is not until the explosive ending that all is connected and can be analyzed and examined. This is a deep political tale that hosts great performances by the main cast. I will admit I really didn't understand most of what was going on until I did some research on it, but this is a pretty in-depth look at oil and the effect it has on people.

I do think this film suffered from a bad case of dragging in the middle, and I do think that the film was at times, too jumbled and complex for its own good. Stephen Gaghan tried way too hard to attack so many different aspects, but he did give a great finale that made up for some of the confusion.

Overall, this is a good political drama that while somewhat confusing, packs a powerful punch in the end.