Syriana
2005
***
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Christopher Plummer
A politically charged multi-character drama which shows how oil has the world on its knees. Corruption is par for the course when Washington politicians, CIA, Middle-Eastern emirates, major oil companies and terrorists all pursue their own agenda. Stephen Gaghan, who wrote the similarly structured Traffic, moves behind the camera and delivers a film which is ambitious but flawed, smart but cynical, interesting but not terribly captivating. Maybe he should have concentrated on only one or two of the story strands. George Clooney is part of a strong ensemble cast, and he won an Oscar for his performance as a disillusioned CIA agent.
