Syriana (DVD)

As in the stunning "Traffic" of a few years ago, "Syriana" adopts the audacious tact of piecing together many plot strains with the intention of making some major points about the need /desperation and unending thirst for Oil. As in "Traffic" Gaghan sets up a situation in which Oil, not drugs is an obsession, a sickness really...the real stuff of life and he peoples his movie with those who support and thrive on his thesis: the C.I.A, the Arab Nations, the US oil companies. People are victimized, blown-up, tortured, brutalized and even murdered in service of the all-mighty pursuit of black gold.
Writer/Director Stephen Gaghan (writer of "Traffic") has the sense though of making the proceedings global yet often times heart breakingly personal which only makes his film more persuasive, more contemporary, more like real, rather than reel, life.
George Clooney, bloated and bearded and not looking at all like the "Worlds Sexiest Man" plays a C.I.A. agent, Bob Barnes: a work-horse agent...one who is sent out on missions as a scapegoat, one who is not expected to succeed but time and time again completes his missions to the utter dismay of his superiors: whereas all of his contemporaries are earning raises and respect, he earns neither and in fact he is abhorred for his expertise: definitely a case of someone who gets the job done his own way and does not follow the party line: a rebel. Why? It's never really explained but it is obvious that Barnes is an outsider: a man more sinned against than sinning. And even with the extra 20 pounds, grey beard and baggy, shapeless clothes, Clooney has never been more effective: he's gruff, he's gross, he's driven but he is nonetheless a good guy...someone who always has the big picture in mind and sees and understands the forest despite the trees.
We, the audience view much of the action and plot of "Syriana" en Medias re: we eavesdrop on many scenes as they are unfolding rather than at their inception: a device that was used to great advantage in "Traffic" and "Gosford Park." This process keeps us off-balance and psychologically on our toes: we pay close attention just to "keep up" and Gaghan, always the consummate storyteller punctuates his films with the rational and irrational stuff that makes us all human. There is also a dark, foreboding, mean-spirited and dangerous side to the story Gaghan is telling here: how do you differentiate the light without the dark? How do you know what is Evil without knowing the Good?
"Syriana" is bravura filmmaking in the best sense: universal yet coming from a personal place. In fact there is a verisimilitude about "Syriana" that is chilling and frightening: is there indeed a wolf pack of rabid Washington honchos pulling and manipulating the strings that control the world's oil supplies? Gaghan definitely has a point-of-view here and if anything his view might be too mature, too ambitious, too prescient for most of us to digest.

Syriana is an oil-based soap opera set against the world of global oil cartels. It is to the oil industry as Traffic was to the drug trade (no surprise, since writer/director Stephen Gaghan wrote the screenplay to Traffic): a sprawling attempt to portray the vast political, business, social, and personal implications of a societal addiction, in this case, oil. A major merger between two of the world’s largest oil companies reveals ethical dilemmas for the lawyer charged with making the deal (Jeffrey Wright), and major global implications beyond the obvious; a CIA operative (George Clooney) discovers the truth about his work, and the people he works for; a young oil broker (Matt Damon) encounters personal tragedy, then partners with an idealistic Gulf prince (Alexander Siddig) attempting to build a new economy for his people, only to find he’s opposed by powers far beyond his control. Meanwhile, disenfranchised Pakistani youths are lured into terrorism by a radical Islamic cleric. And that’s just the start. As in Traffic, in one way or another all of the characters’ fates are tied to each other, whether they realize it or not, though the connections are sometimes tenuous. While Syriana is basically a good film with timely resonance, it can’t quite seem to measure up to Gaghan’s ambitious vision and it very nearly collapses under the weight of its many storylines. Fortunately they are resolved skilfully enough to keep the film from going under in the end. To some viewers, Syriana will seem like an unfocused and over-loaded film that goes, all at once, everywhere and nowhere. Others will find it to be an important work earnestly exploring major issues. In either case, it’s a film that deserves to be taken seriously, and it’s likely to be one that will be talked about for a long time to come.