For starters, I can’t figure out why this movie has a title that sounds like some seductive thriller??? Anyway, Ridley Scott directs a script from “The Departed” scribe (William Monahan) about a CIA operative (Leonardo DiCaprio) with Middle East dealings. He speaks fluent Arabic and has a boss, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) who works from his laptop back in the states. He’s a sort of couch potato in his bathrobe. I suppose I’d do the same thing if I had his worldwide connections from an earpiece. DiCaprio’s mission is a bit confusing but he’s after some Bin Laden type guy who chants the Koran, comes with video equipment, explosives, and hides out in caves. As an American I couldn’t help but wonder if these goverment doings are really happening in real life while we’re off shopping at Target. Are CIA guys traveling underground to countries – that up until ten years ago we never heard of – like Iraq, Dubia, Syria, Afghanistan? Crowe is wisely cast – authoritative and powerful despite having a backseat role, while DiCaprio, on the other hand, is stuck in his “Titanic” boyish look. He attempts to be a grown-up but loses his spirit that only emerges – with that flirty eye-twinkle we’ve come to love him for – after he falls for some nurse in a hospital. But its British actor, Mark Strong, in his portrayal of the good/bad guy Hani, that is both commanding and off-the-charts seductive. Three tiaras
