6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A young program coordinator at the United Nations stumbles upon a conspiracy involving Iraq's oil reserves.
Starring: Theo James, Ben Kingsley, Belçim Bilgin, Jacqueline Bisset, Peshang RadDrama | 100% |
History | 7% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Sir Ben Kingsley has an inherently patrician quality that served him extremely well in his Academy Award winning performance as Gandhi, the sort of noble character where unquestioned moral qualities are at the core of an individual’s being. It’s interesting to see Kingsley put those same patrician qualities in the service of a decidedly more morally ambiguous sort, especially one who is prone to drop the f bomb on fairly regular occasions, but Kingsley’s depiction of a supposed Under Secretary of the United Nations named Pasha is one of the highlights of Backstabbing for Beginners, a generally riveting “ripped from the headlines” account of subterfuge and outright corruption that afflicted the United Nations’ so called Oil for Food Program(me). The Oil for Food Programme was created courtesy of a Security Council Resolution in 1995 in an attempt to get humanitarian aid to Iraqis while at the same time trying to keep Saddam Hussein from building up his military with the profits from the sale of oil. It was a noble cause, one which Secretary General Kofi Annan praised upon its closing in 2003 as having accomplished “one of the largest, most complex and unusual tasks ever entrusted to the Secretariat” (in a quote pulled from an actual United Nations press release covering the closure). The film’s actual focal character is Pasha’s newly hired assistant, a guy named Michael Sullivan (Theo James), a character based on the real life Michael Soussan whose autobiographical memoir of his adventures in the United Nations provided the source material for the screenplay by Daniel Pyne and director Per Fly (why they changed the character’s surname for the film version is anyone’s guess). Michael’s dream was to be a diplomat, following in his father’s footsteps, though wary of the fact that his father was in fact one of the victims of the 1983 bombing in Beirut that killed a host of workers placed in Lebanon.
Backstabbing for Beginners is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. There are a number of interstitial uses of archival footage, some of which can be in slightly different aspect ratios, and much of which looks upscaled and/or otherwise pretty ragged (see screenshots 6, 8, 10, 17 and 19 for a few examples). Otherwise, though, this is a sharp and well detailed looking presentation that makes the most of its location work (Morocco filling in for Iraq). The palette is generally pretty natural looking, but since this is a politically charged thriller, there are the seemingly unavoidable blue graded scenes. A number of interior scenes are either lit or graded in a kind of amber hue, and in some of these moments shadow detail can be a little iffy. Fine detail is excellent in the many close-ups of faces.
Backstabbing for Beginners doesn't provide a ton of opportunities for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track to really exploit "wow" sonics, with elements like Michael's bookending narration being anchored front and center, and even a lot of the dialogue scenes offering immersion courtesy of background environmental sounds. Todor Kobakov's pulsing score resides quite winningly in the side and rear channels and helps to propel several key sequences.
Backstabbing for Beginners has a fascinating premise, and its detailing of the internecine warfare that has afflicted Iraq for untold decades is handled with rather commendable clarity and even handedness. Things get more intentionally murky with regard to the Oil for Food Programme, but even here the film doesn't shy away from some of the more outrageous illegal activity that surrounded (and indeed suffused) the supposed humanitarian effort. Kingsley and James are focused and involving in these duplicitous roles, but some of the sidebars, like the unneeded romantic angle, don't really add much to the proceedings. Technical merits are strong, and Backstabbing for Beginners comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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