Syriana

I just finished watching Syriana for the first time. I must admit, I really enjoyed the movie. However, I have to point out that this is definitely the kind of film that you need to watch more than once to fully understand it. Part of the problem is the fact that the movie's set up more like a book than a motion picture--with several story lines that begin completely separated then slowly come together in the end.

Excellent cinematography, beautiful scenery, and the director had a great selection of cut sequences. It is interesting to point out that George Clooney appeared to have put on a considerable amount of weight for this role, and even changed his stride to fit the character. Overall his acting was clean and convincing except the torture sequence. Yeah, he gets tortured, no it doesn't look convincing. If you haven't seen the movie and still want to, then maybe you should pick up my blog at the next entry--though it's not like I'm telling you that Bruce Willis was dead in the Sixth Sense.

I've fucked up my fingernails before, and let me tell you, shit hurts. A lot. Getting ten of them pulled out with a pair of nail pulling pliers (interestingly enough their actual name, look it up) would probably leave you in enough pain to make it difficult to utter a one liner to your accuser.

So that was pretty much my big qualm with the movie. Syriana shows an in depth look at the intense corruption of the oil industry, and how America will do what it takes to keep ourselves on top. It touches into the causes of Muslim extremism, and how the American government is more concerned with keeping the supply going than fostering democracy in the Middle East. As Danny Dalton said, "Corruption is why we win."

I really liked the ending. It came very fast and very hard, and wasn't your typical uplifting Hollywood ending. Syriana, like our foreign policy leaves the viewer with a lot of unanswered questions, and untied knots. Definitely a movie I'll see again, if for no other reason to try and understand the part of the plot that I missed the first time. Highly recommended.