The Devil's Double Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Devil's Double Blu-ray Movie Review

Double or nothing.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 21, 2011

Every four or eight years, depending on the American election cycle, some semi-obscure comedian hits the jackpot when his impersonation of the newly elected Commander in Chief makes him a hot property, at least for a little while. Nobody had ever heard of Vaughn Meader before he became one of the bestselling “recording artists” of his day with his hilarious parodies of life in the Kennedy White House, The First Family, and similarly David Frye experienced a huge career boost with his equally hilarious depiction of Richard Nixon (though Frye’s Spiro Agnew was probably even funnier). Though Chevy Chase didn’t exactly do a standard impersonation of Gerald Ford, his bumbling shtick as our only unelected President helped push him to the top of that initial Saturday Night Live pack, and SNL has been the go-to provider of Presidential parodists ever since, with everyone from Dan Aykroyd’s Jimmy Carter to Darrell Hammond’s Bill Clinton joining the fray. The signal lesson to be learned about this trend is that we Americans love to laugh at our leaders, whether or not we actually voted for them. But what about countries where making fun of those in charge doesn’t get you Top 10 ratings, but a life in solitary confinement, if not outright death? Do despotic regimes have any need for “body doubles”? And of course the answer is, “yes,” though for a completely different reason than humor. Tyrants from time immemorial have sought out those who looked and sounded like themselves in order to throw potential assassins and other anti-regime forces off the trail of where the “real” leader actually is. Probably no one took this to the extremes that Saddam Hussein did, for he evidently had a coterie of doubles who filled in for him at various public events, and perhaps also became the target for any sniper’s bullet that may have been aimed at the real Saddam. What The Devil’s Double makes frighteningly clear, though, is that this approach wasn’t confined simply to Saddam himself, and in fact spread to Saddam’s family, notably Saddam’s twisted son Uday. The fact that there’s actually a word in Iraq (“fedai”) to describe this fact of assuming a political entity’s identity in order to act as a decoy is perhaps the most telling thing about the practice and how widespread it had become during the Saddam era.

The Hussein regime has been so vilified by American media that any kind of objective perspective is probably several years in the future, but The Devil’s Double, based on a memoir by Latif Yahia, a man recruited (against his will) to be Uday’s “fedai,” if anything paints an even more depraved, disgusting portrait of the Husseins than anything we imagined. While the traditional depictions of Saddam concentrated on his tyrannical, despotic side, what is perhaps the most alarming thing about The Devil’s Double is how twisted the actual family dynamics were, especially with regard to Uday, who was almost certainly psychotic. It was Latif’s misfortune that he resembled Uday enough that with some minor cosmetic surgery and some acting lessons, he could assume the part of a man who feared in a completely different way than Uday’s father was.

While The Devil’s Double is bristlingly visceral with regard to the inner workings of Uday and his coterie of thugs, and director Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day) wisely shifts the United States’ actions against Iraq during Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait largely into the background, the film does have some dramatic issues. First and foremost is the fact that Latif literally has no choice in what’s happening to him, and that removes an element of suspense with regard to what ultimately will happen. When we see how completely in control the Husseins are, especially with regard to their body doubles, there’s little doubt that any form of traditional escape will be all but impossible. The Devil’s Double also adds an unnecessary and cumbersome love angle into the story dealing with one of Uday’s “whores” (his term for them), Sarrab (Ludivine Sagnier), who of course also falls for Latif, though her motives may not be exactly pure.

Aside from these unneeded soap operatic elements, The Devil’s Double is an amazing showcase for Dominic Cooper, who gets to essay both Uday and Latif and does a remarkable job differentiating between the two. Fans of actors playing dual roles have had a glut of opportunities through the years to see their favorite performers try on more than one persona in everything from melodramatic romances like The Prisoner of Zenda to current day shtick like Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill. For decades, special effects were still so basic that actors needed to be in the same frame via split screen superimpositions where a vertical wall or somesuch device allowed for two separate frames to be melded together. When such then-staggering effects as the “two” Stewart Graingers touching each other in the 1950’s Zenda were presented, it was due to special effects wizardry pushing the boundaries of what was then available. With the advent of motion control cameras and digital compositing, techniques became much more facile, and The Devil’s Double has some astoundingly effective sequences with two Dominic Coopers acting up a storm. But more than the technical wizardry is Cooper’s nicely nuanced differentiation between the manic and probably crazed Uday and the horrified but imprisoned Latif.

Uday's brutality obviously stands as a symbol for everything outrageous about the Hussein regime, so much so that Saddam actually comes off as rather reasoned and rational by comparison. (It should be noted that there are a number of incredibly graphic and violent sequences in the film which may prove disturbing to those easily upset). The best thing about The Devil’s Double is how it pries back the veneer of commonly accepted perception (replete with its built in nationalistic prejudices) to show the unseemly underbelly of one of the most despised regimes in recent history. Tamahori keeps things moving along briskly, and if the film pushes credulity more than a few times, with Cooper’s impeccable performance(s) anchoring the film, there’s a certain amount of shock and awe that most viewers will no doubt experience.

The Devil's Double Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Devil's Double is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. The bulk of this film, gorgeously lensed by Sam McCurdy, plays out in a golden-hued ambience which may evoke the desert alarmingly well, but which seems ironically at odds with the brutality and torture which is at the center of so much of the action. Fine detail is exceptional in the brightly lit outdoor shots, and the film very capably melds CGI elements with the practical sets. Some sequences late in the film opt for a blue-hued filter which casts a cool flavor on several graphic scenes. Contrast is occasionally pushed so that whites intentionally slightly bloom. There is some very minor edge enhancement noticeable in some of the brightly backlit sequences, and some similarly very minor crush in a couple of overly dark interior segments, but otherwise this is a stellar looking transfer that offers a very appealing, sharp and clear presentation.

The Devil's Double Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Devil's Double features a brilliantly rendered lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix that propels the listener into the midst of a very involving and immersive soundfield. Tamahori goes into some nice detail in his commentary about adding sound effects like jet fighters into otherwise "domestic" scenes, and that attention to detail means that even dialogue scenes can have some fantastc foley effects populating the surround channels. This track also offers stupendous LFE in both some action scenes as well a couple of club scenes where Uday dances to various bass-heavy tunes. Dialogue is cleanly and clearly presented and well prioritized in the mix. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is superb throughout the track.

The Devil's Double Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentgary with Director Lee Tamahori. This is a generally excellent commentary with Tamahori discussing a lot of technical details with regard to the subtle special effects, but also detailing how the film managed to overcome a relatively miniscule budget. Some of Tamahori's most interesting commentary has to do with the various locations he tweaked for use in the film. Listen for an interesting connection between this film and Gladiator for a good example. It's also kind of funny to hear Tamahori lament that about the only club music they had enough money to license was Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax."
• True Crime Family (1080i; 16:10) features Cooper and others talking about their real life characters, as well as what was going on in the Hussein family inner circle.
• Double Down with Dominic Cooper (1080i; 8:46) is an interesting little piece showing how Cooper assumed both roles and how some of the makeup and special effects were achieved.
• The Real Devil's Double (1080i; 7:44) is a profile of the real life Latif Yahia, whose book provided the source for the film.

The Devil's Double Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If Academy members have a long enough memory, Dominic Cooper may well be looking at an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a couple of months for his fantastic work in The Devil's Double. The film itself has some issues, and its nonstop violence (including a couple of incredibly gruesome scenes, including a disemboweling pretty much shown full on) may turn off some viewers. But for sheer drama, albeit evidently at least partially fictionalized (Tamahori states in his commentary that he doesn't care one whit about "truth"), The Devil's Double is a fascinating look behind the curtain of the Hussein regime. If you have a strong stomach, this Blu-ray comes Recommended.