|
First of all, it's a great disappointment to report that there isn't a single cheetah or lion to be seen in The Devil's Double.
Even if it means blowing more than half the budget on animal wranglers, any movie that profiles Saddam Hussein's eldest son and Iraqi psychopath Uday Hussein is incomplete without the presence of his personal zoo. It's like filming a Michael Jackson biopic and leaving out the chimp, Ferris wheel and kid who played "Webster."
But the drama based on the written account of Uday's body double does pick a solid lead actor in Dominic Cooper, whose impressive performance does a lot to distract from the story problems and strange tone shifts.
(...)
But between scenes of brutal carnage, there's a surprising amount of entertainment value, much of it provided by Cooper in the Uday role. A running joke involving Saddam's body double is also a winner. And while the filmmakers don't pay much attention to continuity or logic, they add plenty of little touches. If you're not going to include any large cats, getting Frankie Goes to Hollywood on the soundtrack is a good consolation prize.
© Hearst Communications Inc.
