Based on a gripping, unbelievable true story of money, power and opulent decadence, Lionsgate’s THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE takes a white- knuckle ride deep into the lawless playground of excess and violence known as Baghdad, 1987. Summoned from the frontline to Saddam Hussein's palace, Iraqi army lieutenant Latif Yahia (Dominic Cooper) is thrust into the highest echelons of the "royal family" when he’s ordered to become the ‘fiday’ – or body double – to Saddam's son, the notorious "Black Prince" Uday Hussein (also Dominic Cooper), a reckless, sadistic party-boy with a rabid hunger for sex and brutality. With his and his family’s lives at stake, Latif must surrender his former self forever as he learns to walk, talk and act like Uday. But nothing could have prepared him for the horror of the Black Prince’s psychotic, drug-addled life of fast cars, easy women and impulsive violence. With one wrong move costing him his life, Latif forges an intimate bond with Sarrab (Ludivine Sagnier), Uday's seductive mistress who’s haunted by her own secrets. But as war looms with Kuwait and Uday’s depraved gangster regime threatens to destroy them all, Latif realizes that escape from the devil’s den will only come at the highest possible cost.
L**S
GOOD MOVIE
Good movie
J**W
As Expected, and More
What a fantastic depiction of one of the most intriguing sons of a bastard ever there was. Saddam's sons were notorious for their evil, corrupt, and maniacal ways. While in Iraq, I remember working out of locations used by Uday and Qusay (sp?) - next to a lake where the sons allegedly dumped bodies of the people they murdered.Although this was a Hollywood depiction, where everything must be taken with a grain of salt, Dominic Cooper does superbly in his role as both Latif Yahia and Uday Hussein. The real-life dude who was the actual body double supposedly lives in Ireland... or America depending on who you believe. I don't know for sure but this movie offers incredible insight to one of the most insidious people to plague the Iraqi people.I know a lot of people have their opinions regarding America's invasion of Iraq, including the supposed lack of WMDs, but if half of what this guy did was true - the Iraqi people, and the world, are better off without this bad cat. This movie both humanizes Uday and Latif, and provides insight into the atrocities people in power commit when they believe their actions have no consequences.Enjoy. Its worth the price of admission.
G**O
An exciting move but some inaccuracies
I found this movie very well done. Mr. Latif is not happy with it. He has apparently been swindled by the producer, and he says that many things were changed, for example, the scene where they ride horses. It never happened, according to Mr. Latif.Mr. Latif has been called a liar and a phony, but considering what he is saying, I tend to believe him. He blames Western powers for the rise of terrorism, and this is obvious, to me at least. Even with the inaccuracies, this is the type of move that is hard to stop watching. It has some crude and perverted scenes, but this is what Uday was like. He was a monster.Consider why his books are so difficult to obtain. He claims that they have been "banned" in the US and Ireland. Even with the assaults on our Bill of Rights, I don't think our politicians are ready to place an outright ban on any publication. They do however, use pressure to restrict the American peoples' access to information.I think this movie is not only entertaining, but shows what happens when psychopaths obtain absolute power. Politicians after all, have always been the worst mass-murderers.
T**B
Great sleeper fim acted by one of the greats who never gets the recognitions he deserves
Fascinating story of Uday Hussein the son of Saddam and his life and how he lived in as told by his body double. This movie has it all the greed, the power, the madness of a son of from royalty and what he did with that power. Its moving it raw and it is a seductive movie that draws you in from the get go and never lets up.Dominic is one of those actors who you may not remember his name at first but you remember his performances. He has the looks and the ability and every role he takes he becomes the person he is playing and he does not fail here at all. He brings a little humanity to Uday while making us despise and loathe him for his actions. This is a good sleeper film that cannot go unseen.
L**T
Interesting treatment with an oustanding performance
In one of the features in the dvd, I was surprised to hear the director say he went for a fictionalized verson of Uday, yet continually referenced the real person in newsreels, in content, by calling him Uday Hussein in the movie and told of his demise in epilogue. However, at the end of the actual action, I was presented with a scene that appeared to be complete fiction. So, what I saw overall was a good film, but rather confusing in its point. Further the director said he wanted to dig to find out how Saddam Hussein and his wife created such evil as Uday and Qusay, the same idea which drew me to this film in the first place. I kept waiting for some small revelation of how's and why's here, but found none. Instead, Uday is presented as a rather one-dimensional, completely repulsive character, lacking any humanity or any redeeming qualities. Perhaps he was truly like that, but he also likely had more facets than we see in this film.Nevertheless, at the heart of the film is the relationship between Uday and his body double, both played absolutely brilliantly by Dominic Cooper. The interviews with both Dominic Cooper and the real Latif in the extras were absolutely fascinating.There is a lot of graphic violence and sadistic behavior, but I think the director did a great job of restraint in portraying examples of some of Uday's reprehensible acts. The viewer gets it without being abused by the images.Ultimately, this will be one of those movies I have to watch a few times to mine all of what the storyteller is trying to tell me. It's a good film, but at this point, I am just left wanting more...
M**Y
Excellent Movie based on Factual Content
This movie is great! It's about Saddam Hussein's perverted and twisted son Uday Hussein (and stated to be based on actual facts). It is a very disturbing, perverted and invoking, yet interesting movie that will really open your eyes to just how twisted this guy was and also gives a peek inside the mind of a terrorists mentality. It's almost comparable to an Iraqi version of Scarface, but in an extremely bad bad way. Uday Hussein actually makes Scarface look like a very nice guy in comparison. ;-) In fact, if the 2 were to meet in reality; Scareface would likely give this punk both barrels. "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!!!"But seriously, if you like suspense, drama and thrillers and enjoy movies that are based on factual events then this is a must see. My wife and I rented the movie from Blockbuster and I ordered it the following week to add to our library. Very well written!
