Review of The Devil's Double (2011) by Rie M — 16 Jan 2012
The Devil's Double explores what it's like to be forced into the service of a psychopath. How, without a choice, unnamed surgeons and aids turn you into a monster - a body double. The problem with this film is that it doesn't know how to push its message.
It was not strong in its convictions, so instead of a profound statement, it just showed us how much of psychopath Uday Hussein was, which we already knew. It also fails as a historical bio-pic, falling prey to the standard and cliched Hollywood thrills and plot elements.
Where the film succeeds though, is in the performance(s) of Dominic Cooper, who plays both Uday and his body double Latif Yahia. He was able to create two completely different characters that just so happened to look alike.
He was fine as Latif (aside from some British-accent problems), but he excelled as Uday. He captured the madness and instability of the man and crafted a very strong villain, that were the story about him (instead of Latif), it would have been much stronger.
This review of The Devil's Double (2011) was written by Rie M on 16 Jan 2012.
The Devil's Double has generally received positive reviews.
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