That the film is based on Yahia's autobiography gives credence to the degrading antics and situations depicted onscreen. It is a story of an irresponsible grab for power and riches, told in such decadent fashion that you almost want to take a cold shower after seeing it. Tamahori, the New Zealand director who has dabbled in such varied genres as art films and James Bond, doesn't hold back in depicting the bottom-feeding world of Uday—and by extension the entire out-of-control regime of Saddam Hussein. If it weren't true, we would never believe it.
The story begins in Baghdad, 1987, as Yahia is summoned back from war and enlisted as a fiday, or body double, for the cowardly Uday, a savagely gross and sadistic loose cannon with a taste for loose women and lots of unchecked debauchery and cold-blooded brutality. Against threats to his own family, Yahia must succumb to the orders of Uday and learn to essentially become just like the cretin—walking, talking, acting, and even eating like him. The disgusting day-to-day adventures of Uday send shock waves through his double, who must find any way he can to survive in this hell on earth. He forges a relationship with Sarrab (Ludivine Sagnier), the gorgeously seductive mistress of Uday who has a backstory of her own and more complexity than can be expected of such a woman in this kind of situation. With war against Kuwait on the horizon and his own life in increasing danger, Yahia must find any way out before it's too late.
In the case of "The Devil's Double," Tamahori and his screenwriter Michael Thomas have pulled out all the stops to create a drug addled-gangster society that knows no limits. But it is Cooper who brings it home for them in a truly brilliant dual performance. Many actors have played opposite themselves before onscreen, but it is hard to think of another one who lays it out with the ferocity, intensity, and believability of Cooper. The actor also gets all the nuances right, particularly in Latif, as we see him playing a man impersonating another man. No easy trick, but Cooper sails through this role dominating every moment he's on screen, and there's barely one that he isn't. The supporting cast is fine, with the talented French thesp Sagnier also doing extremely well in the underwritten role of Sarrab.
For no other reason than to catch Cooper's tour-de-force work, this film is a must-see—that is, if you have the stomach for it.
Genre: Drama
Directed by: Lee Tamahori
Screenplay by: Michael Thomas
Starring: Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier
