Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Syriana Blu-ray Movie Review

"Corruption is our protection. Corruption keeps us safe and warm."

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater June 22, 2009

Every summer, oil makes the price hike to new highs, making gas station signs seem like scoreboards for a seemingly one-sided game. Oil Companies: $2.70, American Consumers: 0. We complain, of course, and blame the president, blame Congress, blame the Middle East, blame anything and anyone remotely blamable, content to generalize and compartmentalize the dilemma to fit our us vs. them (or is it U.S. vs. them?) mentality. In the meantime, invisible deals are being struck, governments dial up the diplomatic pressure, and the average Joe in his American- made gas-guzzler sits in summer vacation traffic chewing sunflower seeds, unaware of the complex inner workings that turn the lumbering, mechanized devourer that is the oil industry.

Convoy, roll out!

I’ll confess to ignorance. The oil issue is unfathomably multifaceted, dictating foreign policy, controlling investment strategies, and generally overwhelming anyone who hopes to learn something about it. For your typical layman, there comes a point where the curtains are drawn, the doors are locked, and it’s impossible to see exactly what’s going on inside. Then comes Syriana, like the ghost of economy present, to give us resource-consuming Scrooges a guided tour through the gilded halls of Big Oil. We watch the seedy dealings of petroleum barons, observe blatant corruption, and gape at the ambassadorial glad-handing and backstabbing that comes with the oil-rich territory. And then, when it’s all over, well, we’re still a little confused. But that’s okay. This is a big, confusing topic, and Syriana presents it as such. The film mirrors the complexity of the oil trade with narrative intricacy, and while clever viewers may deduce the minute plot turns on the first go, it took me two tries—once in the theater, and the second time at home with subtitles—to get a firm grasp on the story.

The name Syriana is think tank language for a hypothetical restructuring of the Middle East, and the film is partly set in a fictitious Arab nation on the verge of a regime change. The emir of this country has two sons. The first-born is a progressive, who wants to give women the right to vote, beef-up infrastructure, and decrease the nation’s dependency on oil for revenue. His brother, on the other hand, is an in-it-for-the-riches playboy who will blindly cave to U.S. demands while keeping the rest of the nation in the Bronze Age. Surrounding this Jacob and Esau drama are three men caught in the cogs of the oil industry. Bob Barnes (George Clooney) is a past-his-prime CIA agent who becomes an unwilling scapegoat for the agency after a failed assassination attempt on the eldest prince. Bryan Woodman (Matt Damon) is the prince’s economic advisor, a family man who suffers a personal loss and turns his grief into a goldmine for his consulting company. And Bennet Holiday (Casino Royale’s Jeffrey Wright) is an attorney investigating two oil companies that, if they merge, will create the world’s twenty-third largest economy. Their stories are intertwined and non-linear—Roger Ebert famously referred to Syriana as a hypertext film—and the tendrils of the plot stretch and insinuate themselves into all manner of issues, from corporate corruption and governmental regulation, to terrorism and due diligence.

For a film that presses so many hot buttons, Syriana is careful not to overtly take sides. The story could have easily devolved into a bash on G.W. Bush and his oil-loving cronies, but bi- partisan politics are left fortunately out of the mix. Much like HBO’s fantastic series The Wire, there are no die-cast good guys or baddies here, just men and women who are corrupted to varying degrees by the institutions to which they are devoted, institutions that, in many cases, abandon them when they are no longer useful. There are no innocents in the oil business—profit, after all, is the name of the game—and one character sums this up in his proud assertion that “Corruption is why we win.” The film takes a similar approach in the portrayal of two migrant teenagers who are groomed to be terrorists. Their actions are certainly not justified, but we are driven to see how and why they arrive at their decision for martyrdom, and the effect is sobering.

Balancing all these spinning plates is no easy task, and recognition should be showered on writer/director Stephan Gaghan (Traffic), who has clearly done his research and constructed an engaging, intellectually stimulating film that manages to enlighten without any preachy nonsense. He also assembled one of the best ensemble casts in recent years. George Clooney and Matt Damon are the big names, of course, but the film is populated with a spectacular array of character actors, including Chris Cooper, Jeffrey Wright, Christopher Plummer, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, and many others. The acting here really is top-notch, and even the top billed performers shed some of their celebrity sheen (Clooney gained 30 lbs.) and sink wholeheartedly into their roles.

After seeing Syriana in theaters with a few friends, I remember going out for Thai food and having a mammoth discussion about the film’s timely themes and deliciously convoluted plot. Watching the film is a mentally energizing experience, and there are very few political thrillers that are this taut and well scripted. In the intervening years since Syriana’s release, the topic of America’s reliance on foreign oil has ballooned, especially during the debates preceding last November’s presidential election. It’s clear, to me at least, that as the world’s supply of oil continues to dwindle, Syriana’s potent observations will only increase in resonance.

Syriana Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Syriana is a film that utilizes tonality and stylization to set and heighten its moods, and this 1080p VC-1 transfer is capable, for the most part, of handling the film's widely varying atmospheres. The segments set in the U.S. all seem to have a bluish cast that evokes a cold and lifeless bureaucracy, complete with somber offices and poorly-lit corporate boardrooms filled with faces grimacing through drawn and listless skin tones. The Middle East settings show more life, but the feeling is still appropriately subdued. Much of the film has a pulled-back color palette that, while not as extreme as the bleach-bypass contrast of Three Kings, for example, chooses to alternately desaturate and enrich certain hues as each situation requires. Black levels are strong and help create a well-defined image, but the film's whites are either much too hot or, more frequently, unusually dim and grayish. This seems mostly due to directorial intent, however, and it's hard to fault the transfer, which otherwise is adequately sharp and free from any pesky banding, artifacts or DNR issues. Overall, a solid transfer that does what it needs to but doesn't really offer up any "wow, this is HD" moments.

Syriana Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Syriana opens with an almost digitized, loudspeaker broadcast of the Islamic call to prayer before fading to a hush of wind and bringing in a somber, harp-laden theme that fills the sound field with a warm, organic reverb. There is a similar dichotomy present throughout the entirety of this Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, as the score is rich and dynamically full, while certain ambient elements are thin and artificial. When the migrant boys go out to the desert to drink moonshine, for example, the hum and crackling of the power lines seems over-emphasized and out of place. Voices, especially at lower volumes, tend to sound occasionally boxy and compressed. That said, I love Syriana's score. Electronic bass lines throb with subtle LFE presence under shimmering strings, and the soundtrack is always immersive and clear. The rest of the film, however, is hit or miss when it comes to rear channel use. Some scenes are filled with 360-degree sound, while others that should be are firmly oriented in the front channels. Much like the video quality, Syriana's audio is sufficient but not flashy, which is perhaps a good thing, since it allows you to devote your brainpower to deciphering the film's crossword puzzle plot.

Syriana Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

A Conversation with George Clooney (SD, 9:11)

This chat with the always charming and well-spoken Mr. Clooney covers a lot of ground in a brief amount of time, from the challenges of shooting on location and learning Arabic pronunciation, to the things he learned from Robert Baer, the ex-CIA agent upon which the character of Bob Barnes is loosely based.

Weaving Reality into Drama: A Filmmaker's Journey (SD, 26:08)

"A Filmmaker's Journey" is no mere tagline, as writer/director Stephen Gaghan really did embark on a quest for research that took him throughout Europe and the Middle East, where he met with oil traders, lobbyists, and even the spiritual leader of Hezbollah. This is a compact and comprehensive feature that documents not only the research process, but also the filming of Syriana in Morocco and Dubai, among other locations. This is easily the disc's best supplement, and fans will immediately want to watch this after viewing the film.

A Conversation with Matt Damon (SD, 7:14)

Damon talks about how the film isn't just another "partisan rant," and details some of the preparation that went into constructing his character, including ample help from consultant Stephen MacSearraigh.

Make a Change, Make a Difference (SD, 11:19)

Director Stephen Gaghan and others discuss America's addiction to oil, the essential role that oil has played in the development of the U.S., and the relevance of the film's themes to the corporate malfeasances that occur so regularly today.

Deleted Scenes (SD, 6:00)

Three deleted scenes are included, two of which contain some interesting material from the cut character of Bob Barnes' wife.

Theatrical Trailer (SD, 2:17)

Syriana Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Between Syriana, Blood Diamond, and a host of others, the Big Issue film is on a bit of a streak in Hollywood, and Syriana stands as a perfect example of how to do the genre with intelligence and style. This is a film to watch with a group, as discussion is an inevitable consequence of Syriana's tricky plot and divisive themes. Though this Blu-ray disc could be a bit more fleshed out in the AV department, and while I would really love a commentary track by director Stephen Gaghan—who really is brilliant—I have no qualms in highly recommending Syriana to any viewers who are willing to put on their thinking caps and ponder the amorphous world of the oil trade.