Syriana

FYI, Clooney's character is loosely based on a real-life retired CIA case officer Robert Baer. His book "See No Evil" is an interesting read.
 
I liked the film alot but it certainly had some major flaws. ***SPOILERS***

Agreed that Clooney's character would never have been able to drive upon that convoy without being shot - I found that very distracting. Couldn't focus on the film because of thinking of how ridiculous that was.

I also found the ambiguity of some of the characters frustrating. Such as the older white-haired man working on behalf of the oil industry (the one who insulted the younger prince on his yacht). Was he actually an oil executive or was he just an unnamed shadowy figure who benefitted from oil-friendly policies? Doesn't matter either way, I guess, but it kept bugging me.

Also, the main lawyer investigator. Was he hired from a private legal firm to be a special investigator or was he actually a US attorney? Again, might not matter too much, but I'd be interested to know.

Lastly, the "alcoholic father?" (i think he was a father - who knows?) who was always on the attorney's stoop. What was that all about? Was that supposed to be a lame attempt at character development? Showing the pressures of his home life - or perhaps that his moral compass might have been askew due to a difficult upbringing. This was the only character that I found totally superfulous - annoyingly so.

BUT, having said all that - I did enjoy the film. The attempt to tackle such a complex situation with so many interests involved is commendable. I think the film accomplished that VERY successfully given a 2.5 hour run time. Personally, I think the material would have been better suited to stretching out over 2 or 3 films (with genuine character development), but I'm sure the studios felt it too risky to invest that much capital in a project not guaranteed to find a large audience. That's too bad - this could 've been the 21st century Godfather in the right hands.
 
I'm ressurecting this thread. I saw this last night as it came out on DVD this past tuesday.

I have to admit I didnt even finish it, I had absolutely no idea what the hell was going on.

But the funny thing is it was still sorta intriging. George Clooney was excellent and so was Matt Damon, but the plot is so confusing and VERY hard to follow.

The cinematography is excellent and there are some great visuals.

But in the end, I couldnt take it anymore and shut it off.

Maybe I'l give it another chance.
 
I've heard the hard to follow complaint alot of times.

I just don't see it.

Given the complexity of the situation I thought Syriana did an incredible job of making its points and telling its story.

As long as you pay attention to all the dialogue and can tell all the old white guys apart it should be easy as pie to follow.

I rewatched it last night for the first time since the theatrical release and my opinion of this film is much higher than before.

I think its because unlike Traffic (with its rich priveledged white kids falling into crack-whore drug addiction storyline; totally unbelievable to me by the way) i felt that this was a pretty concise movie that tied everything into the story in a very realistic and necessary way.
 
I think that's the whole point of the movie. We aren't supposed to understand what's going on because the characters themselves don't know what's going on. Everything changes, new people come into power, policies are written, power players are killed and the focus changes. They are confused just as we the audience are.
I loved the film, cinematography and acting.
 
I thought it was very linear storyline, concise and eloquent. It's not hard to follow. For the guy who said he found Clooneys character distracting when coming up to the convoy wasn't he waving a white flag of sorts? I can't remember. As for the father character he respresented the future. The son didn't want to end up like his father by making the same mistakes he made. That is why the son did what he did near the end.
 
Just wanted to say I've seen this film two more times and it's gotten better with each viewing. I bought the DVD and think this is the kind of film I could easily watch 3 or 4 times a year. The DVD i bought doesn't have director's commentary so I might have to pony up the cash for the special edition DVD.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top