Review of The Devil's Double (2011) by The D — 07 Jan 2012

A bizarre tale based on his own life story of Latif, an Iraqi who against his will becomes a body double for Uday Hussein, elder son of Saddam.

Seen by some as an honour this become as nigthmare for Latif as day by day he bears witness to the sadistic & psychotic behaviour of Uday. With his family and own life under constant threat Latif is trapped yet still looks to stand up to his brutal master.

Dominic Cooper plays both roles here but the contrast is just not quite right. Whilst his portrayal of Uday is quite remarkable in a quite over the top eccentric fashion his performance as Latif seems so laid back and wooden it's like he almost doesn't care.

The story itself doesn't hold a huge amount of plot twists as such but Tamahori manages to get over 100 mintues from it without it seeming stretched or padded out.

There is little support to speak of on the whole. It only really comes from Ludivine Sagnier as Sarrab a love interest of both protagonists but she is a little irritating to say the least & not a character you come to empathise with in anyway.

In summary it's a good watch but not to be taken too seriously.