State lies: Leonardo DiCaprio, at the top of his form and his game for Ridley Scott (review)
Arte is banking on a very effective war thriller this evening. Russell Crowe, Golshifteh Farahani, Oscar Isaac and Mark Strong are also there.
Former journalist injured during the Iraq War, Roger Ferris is recruited by the CIA to track down a terrorist based in Jordan. In order to infiltrate his network, Ferris will have to enlist the support of the very cunning CIA veteran Ed Hoffman and the head of Jordanian intelligence, perhaps too helpful to be honest. Although these two are supposed to be his allies, Ferris wonders: how much can he trust them without putting his entire operation – and his life – in danger?
Leonardo DiCaprio will return to television this evening in State liesof Ridley Scott. When it was released in 2008, this thriller was very popular with First. Here is our review, accompanied by an interview with its main actor.
Leonardo DiCaprio – Lies of State: “Faced with Ridley Scott, you better be sure”
Six years later The fall of the Black Falcon, Ridley Scott takes another look at how America manages, on and off the ground, the international conflicts it faces. The conclusion he draws has not varied enormously. Somalia yesterday, Iraq today: American power is exercised above all by force.
The film demonstrates in fact, through the double portrait of a field agent and his superior, riveted in front of satellite images, that the lack of knowledge of the other (their culture, their way of life and thought) leads to d ‘reckless and fatal decisions. A CIA veteran for whom the value of a man, even one of his own, comes second to reasons of state, Ed Hoffman (incredible Russell Crowe, weighed up by thirty kilos) orders executions by telephone or assigns dangerous missions while tucking in her daughter. Thousands of kilometers away, in Jordan, Roger Ferris (Leonardo, at the top of his form and his game) puts his skin in danger by trying to infiltrate terrorist networks in order to gather more or less vital information, all while retaining a part of humanity and an intact conscience. A third character, the enigmatic head of the Jordanian secret services, introduces another dimension: that of the pragmatism of small nations which compete with the great powers by favoring the human factor and intuition.
With the consummate art of directing that we know him for, Scott not only succeeds in a formidable action film full of highlights but also offers a fascinating and synthetic reading of modern conflicts. Let’s overlook the few narrative facilities (like the artificial romance between Ferris and a pretty native woman) to salute the performance.
Golshifteh Farahani: “Comedy and me” (interview)
