Syriana

Back in 2005,while Hollywood was all a-ga-ga at ‘Crash’ and it’s multiple storylines examining racism in big and bold terms, another multi-layered and complexly structured film that took it’s cues from ‘Traffic’ was silently fighting the good fight. This film was the mostly unsung ‘Syriana’, a challenging and intelligent film that dealt with the middle east’s current situation and the west’s money-motivated relationship with it.

Jeffrey Wright is a government official investigating dodgy dealings amidst a frighteningly large oil company-merger, struggling to offer up some kind of scapegoat without upsetting the powerful men who run the country. On the other side of the ‘frontlines’, Matt Damon is a financial analyst who finds himself drawn into a struggle for power between two middle-eastern princes after the tragic death of his son, the elder prince (Alexander Siddig) wants to modernize his country and bring democracy to his people but this also means independent control of his nation’s natural resources… American forces (including the ironically-named Committee for the Liberation of Iran, who are all for middle-eastern democracy provided it isn’t autonomous) set into motion events that will prevent such a thing, to ensure their own financial interests remain protected. Meanwhile, George Clooney is the hard-working CIA agent used and abused by his superiors… in this game of strategy he appears to be the pawn America is willing to sacrifice, but he won’t be going down without a fight.

As you can see, there are more than a few storylines running throughout this film… they don’t all meet together in a neat and narrative-savvy fashion, but they do all highlight the unfair ways in which middle eastern people are being manipulated – by America, by big business, by their own terrorist factions - and they do all link to one another in certain ways. It’s a battle for power, a deadly global chessboard of desperation and greed, all fought over a disappearing resource; oil. Fat, smug tycoons scrabble over profits and legal scapegoats while people in the middle east die, lose jobs or turn into fanatics in the hope of purging their lands of the unstoppable enemy – ‘progress’.

Let’s face it, this was a film that was never going to be a blockbuster. It’s the film that got good critical notices from nearly anyone but was too close-to-home for anyone to back come Oscar-time. The one consenting win was George Clooney’s Best Supporting Actor Oscar, perhaps as much a reward to the film as it was to Clooney’s commitment to the role. An inspired choice to play a down-and-out and trodden-on man-of-the-world, Clooney packed on some flab and grew a thick beard to appear as the sort of man who lives and works amongst the lowest members of society the world over. It's a performance that has everything to do with the demands of the film and nothing to do with the ego of a mainstream film star, and for that I cheer.

Like I said, this is a smart and complex film. It’s worth your time and concentration, and is a welcome antidote to America’s increasingly jingoistic attitude to the rest of the world. ‘Syriana’ is a film that isn’t afraid to tell it like it is in regards to the U.S. manipulation of the middle east for their own financial gain, the effects of globalisation and consolidated economies on everyday people there and the hypocrisies, lies and dirty-dealing backstabbing that feeds this despicable machine of greed. It's a poignant examination of a tragically relevant story of our times.

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