Syriana
Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Amanda Peet, Christopher Plummer, Alexander Siddig, Mazhar Munir
Directed by: Stephen Gaghan

Released in the US: December 9th, 2005
Released in the UK: Early 2006

Reviewed by: Adam Mast, ZBoneman.com

Syriana is no easy film to review. I’d be lying if I said I was able to easily digest every frame. And in fact, it’s been an hour since I finished watching the film, and I’m still trying to process it. Simply put, this isn’t one of those pictures that can easily be summed up after one viewing because it’s so crammed with information, characters and story-lines. So after experiencing the picture for my first time, I can say that Syriana is provocative, powerful, gut-wrenching, heavy handed, and frustrating all at once.

This sprawling, multi-character political piece is the brainchild of Traffic screenwriter Stephen Gaghan (adapted from Robert Baer’s book See No Evil), and delves into the global oil industry from several points of view. The primary characters include veteran CIA agent Bob Barnes (Played by George Clooney), energy analyst Bryan Woodnam (Played by Matt Damon), and Washington Attorney Bennett Holiday (Played by Jeffrey Wright).

Syriana is big and complex, and I must admit that as the film began, I had a hard time keeping up. The plot is extremely intricate in it’s exploration of the subject matter, and all I can tell you is that if you leave the theater for a bathroom break at any point, you might as keep walking.

Syriana is directed in much the same fashion as Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, but structurally speaking, it’s far more fragmented. It’s clear that Gaghan has a lot to say. Perhaps too much. With a running time of only two hours and fifteen minutes, many of the complex scenarios the film maker is trying to get out of his head, feel a little underdeveloped. For example the film gives a sympathetic look at how and why so many young men in these third world countries fall into terrorism. This genesis is complex and fascinating enough to be the sole subject matter of several movies, but in Syriana this particular sub plot is just too condensed. Thus any emotional power it might have offered - had it been developed more gradually - is diluted and all but lost.

I really appreciate the tinier nuances in this picture. They lend a real sense of humanity to Syriana. Take for instance the father and son parallels between many of the film’s main characters, particularly where Jeffrey Wright’s Bennett Holiday is concerned. Here’s a man who spends most of his evenings recriminating his alcoholic father for bad choices made, when he himself is no saint. This scenario is subtle and adds an extra layer of emotional depth to the entire film.

Like the recent masterpiece Crash, many of the characters meet by coincidence, and many of the various players in this intense international game do cross paths. What’s more, there’s a fine line between heroes and villains in Syriana, and I must admit, as the film came to an end, I was sick to my stomach at the mere thought of where some of these characters end up.

George Clooney is sensational here, and the actor packed on several extra pounds and sports a thick beard to virtually drown out his "sexiest man alive" persona. And even though we don’t know a whole hell of a lot about this man’s past, we are aware of what he lives for now. Of all the characters on display in Syriana, Clooney’s Bob goes through the biggest transformation, which is completely apparent during his final scene, an explosive, humbling moment of earth-shattering irony.

Matt Damon is effective as analyst Bryan Woodsman, a man juggling a recent tragedy with the rigors of his complex profession. Making matters worse, are how the this tragedy ties in with his job. Jeffrey Wright is incredibly subtle as the quiet but highly intelligent Bennett Holiday. At one point in Syriana, Christopher Plummer suggests that Holiday is a lion posing as a sheep. This is a perfect definition of this outstanding characterization. Plumber turns in an effective performance in his own right.

The entire, massive cast is stellar and I’ve only singled out these three, because they are more or less the focal point of the film and many of Syriana’s numerous story-lines are filtered through them on some level.

Syriana is chatty to be sure. Contrary to what the trailer leads one to expect, the film hardly moves like a bullet train, and I have no doubt, that some audiences might be completely bored by it’s pace. For me, it got it’s point across through endless, persuasive conversations, but it worked because it accurately reflects the reality of it all. I don’t want to give the impression that there aren’t moments of sheer visceral excitement. There certainly are - including, among other things, a grueling torture scene and an unpredictable kidnapping sequence. For the most part, however, Syriana is restrained in it’s approach to the material.

Syriana, like Traffic, raises questions and presents situations rather than throwing out answers. It’s careful in the way that it presents itself. And in fact, while many will argue that this movie is nothing more than propaganda - Hollywood espousing it’s liberal agenda, take notice that there aren’t any off color pot shots taken at George Bush in this film. On the contrary, it’s almost as if the movie is suggesting that the "political system" has become what it is as a result of an evolutionary cycle, ever changing for the worse no matter who is in office.

Stephen Gaghan has created a thoughtful, if a tad convoluted, expose on the oil industry. At the very least we can now forgive the film maker for the Katie Holmes thriller Abandon. Even as mysteries go, that movie was below average. Syriana has a lot to say and while it doesn’t always say it in a clear cut fashion, at least it dares to challenge the viewer when most films these days are afraid to.

Grade: B+