Review of The Devil's Double (2011) by Thomas W — 15 Nov 2011

If you haven't taken notice of actor Dominic Cooper (An Education, The Duchess, Captain America), this movie should change that. Giving a tour-de-force performance as two very differnent men, Cooper is the heart and sadistic center to The Devil's Double.

He plays both the Devil and the Double. As a former classmate and apparent look-alike to Saddam Hussein's insane son, Uday, Latif is brought to a presidential palace and tempted with riches and fantasies IF he becomes the "look-alike" to Uday and is his body double -- like many high profile political leaders etc.

employ. As Uday is a serial rapist and pedophile -- not to mention a bad cad -- Latif doesn't wish to go along; but is practically forced to do so for fear of what will happen to his law-abiding family in Baghdad.

For Latif to become a successful double, he must adopt the personality and mannerisims of Uday ... and the transformation is frightening. While being warned to never "touch" anything that "belongs" to Uday, Latif is drawn to a party girl/girlfriend of Uday which can only result in trouble (she is played by French sensation Ludivine Sagnier [8 Femmes, Swimming Pool, Peter Pan]).

Based on actual events -- your guess to what is actually true is as good as mine -- The Devil's Double is an interesting glimpse into a Baghdad the west might be unaware existed as it takes place before Iraq became a daily watercooler topic (the film takes place mostly before the invasion of Kuwait).

I was intrigued by this drama and was impressed with Cooper, whom I have believed to be a decent talent in the past.