The Devil's Double (2011)

There are many ways to describe Uday Hussein, Saddam Hussein's oldest son. None of them are positive.

The Devil's Double is a "take no prisoners" film that's as hard to watch as it is entertaining. It follows Latif Yahia (Dominic Cooper), an Iraqi soldier from an upper class family, who is plucked from the war to act as Uday's double. Uday (also played by Cooper), remembers the comparisons the two would get when they jointly attended grade school. He asks Yahia to be his double for both political and personal reasons. Like his father, Uday is in a constant state of worry over an assassination attempt. Further, he wants to send Yahia on personal trips that he himself doesn't wish to attend. Yahia, kind and warm, refuses, but is forced to with the threat of harm to his family. Yahia is given cosmetic surgery and dentures to complete the look.

Yahia is thrust into Uday's world. This is a world filled with rape, torture, murder, drugs, sex and money. The lifestyle that the Hussein's live is more than Presidential it is royal. Immediately, Uday claims Yahia as his own property. Uday has grown into a monster, getting whatever he wants and never having to deal with the consequences. Yahia is who he wants. The atrocities he witnesses because of Uday disgust him, but he is stuck in this nightmare. We watch as Uday preys upon young girls walking home from school. We watch as he guts his father's best friend at a party. We watch Yahia struggle with the lifestyle he is forced to live. Uday's fascination with Yahia grows stronger and it enters your mind that Uday may actually be in love with his double. This doesn't necessarily mean in a romantic way, but because his love of himself is so great, that he sees Yahia as apart of himself.

While the rest, as they say, is history, I certainly don't want to spoil the way the rest of the film plays out. This is a movie that you must see for yourself!

The acting in dual roles by Cooper, his first film as lead, is Oscar worthy. He gives both men their own voices, mannerisms and idiosyncrasies, that instantly allow the viewer to tell them apart. Subdued and stoic, Cooper plays Yahia as a guilt ridden man, grappling with the life he has been thrust into. He plays Uday as a manic, hyper madman with a broken smile and a creepy laugh. You literally believe they are two different actors.

Latif is an ordinary man who is thrust into an extraordinary situation. An object of admiration for the President's son, he has no choice but to comply with the excruciating horrors that are put forth before him. Never once, however, do we seem his morals waver.

We know how it ends, but as with life, it's the journey that's important. The Devil's Double is the real life, Middle Eastern Scarface. Powerful, unsettling, thrilling and always entertaining, The Devil's Double, is quite easily one of the best movies of 2011.

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This is a movie about Uday Hussein (Dominic Cooper) and his double Latif Yahia (Dominic Cooper). Latif is reluctant to act as Uday's double until he is made an offer he can't refuse. Saddam had body doubles so Uday must have one too. Unlike Saddam, Uday's body double is mostly a status symbol who he shows around. The movie highlights the things that Uday did, many to the embarrassment of Saddam. He would kidnap school girls, then when he was done with them, dump their bodies along side of the road. It showed us his drug use, extravagance, and ability to torture...never his good side, like he really knew how to throw a party. Oh wait. It did show that. The movie also interjects actually footage from the era. We also get to hear the Iraqi take on the Kuwait invasion.

Good acting, but we knew the ending. It is my understanding Uday was really hated more than this movie portrayed.

F-bomb, C-word, full frontal nudity, sex, torture,

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I rarely post reviews of movies but I though somebody should present an objective view of Devil's Double. Honestly, while it was a fairly entertaining film and Dominic Cooper's performance was noteworthy, the movie as a whole lacked substance and tried to overcompensate in gratuitous violence. While I'm not doubting the regime of Uday and his family was evil and forced virtually everybody to either placate to their desires or suffer the consequences, this was something we all knew before we watched the movie, and the film doesn't really do anything to dig into the dynamics of the family or the Iraqi dictatorship. It was also extremely predictable and the script left a great bit to be desired. As my rating indicates, I'm not saying this was a bad movie. However, for all the potential it could have and should have been better. Would I recommend watching it one time? Certainly. It is worth spending money on to own? Probably not for most people. See it once, there is little reward in a second viewing unless your looking for a lot of violence and cocaine and you don't own Scarface.

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Good movie. Could not believe it was based on true events. Seemed like Uday Hussein was worse than his father.

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Loved this movie, it was about what I expected it to be. It's too bad it only brought in under 5 mil. I expect this movie will end up with a cult following.

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