The Devil's Double
The Devil's Double | |
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Directed by | Lee Tamahori |
Screenplay by | Michael Thomas |
Based on | The Devil's Double by Latif Yahia |
Produced by |
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Starring | Dominic Cooper Ludivine Sagnier |
Cinematography | Sam McCurdy |
Edited by | Luis Carballar |
Music by | Christian Henson |
Production company | Corsan |
Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Budget | $19.1 million[1] |
Box office | $4.8 million[1] |
The Devil's Double is a 2011 English-language Belgian–Dutch film directed by
Plot
In 1987,
Uday's increasingly violent, sadistic tendencies are displayed when he kidnaps a 14-year-old school girl and forces her to escort him to a party. At the party, based on an actual 1988 celebration honoring Egyptian President
Latif, acting as Uday, is later sent to Basra to rally support among Republican Guard soldiers as Coalition forces have taken control of the war. During the speech, Uday calls his brother from his mother's bedroom, playfully challenging him to tell the difference between Latif and Uday; his brother succinctly replies that he can tell: "He's sober and he's not foaming at the mouth." At Basra, another attempt is made on Latif's life. To Uday's great concern, Latif nearly loses a little finger in the assault, which presumably would mean Uday would have to have his own little finger amputated to maintain their resemblance. Uday angrily shows up at the hospital and threatens to slaughter the entire hospital if they fail to save his finger. Fortunately, the doctors succeed in saving Latif's finger. Afterwards, Uday accompanied by his bodyguards and Latif, crash a wedding where Uday viciously rapes and beats the bride who kills herself right after. Latif, at his breaking point assaults Uday when he shows indifference but is corralled by Uday's guards who threaten to kill him. Uday stops them and gleefully tells Latif "I will never let you go"! Later, Latif is confronted by the father of the young girl Uday killed. Uday eavesdrops on the conversation and is outraged by the man's pleas for "justice" and "compassion." Uday orders Latif to kill the man, but Latif refuses and instead slits his own wrists, to Uday's amusement. He is dumped half-dead on his family's front door where he shocks them with him still being alive. While he recovers, his father tells Latif that no matter what he has done or what happened he is proud of him and trusts him. After Latif recovers, he confronts Uday at his birthday party. The confrontation escalates to a shootout and Latif escapes in Uday's Mercedes with Sarrab. The two escape to Valletta, but Sarrab, fearing for her daughter in Iraq, calls Uday begging for the chance to return without being harmed. A would-be assassin sent by Uday just misses shooting Latif almost as soon as they arrive on the island. Angered by Sarrab's carelessness, he washes his hands of her. Uday calls Latif and offers him one final chance to return to Iraq, threatening to kill his father if he refuses. Latif's father encourages him not to return and he is killed.
However, Latif does return to Iraq, not to continue to serve as Uday's double, but rather to kill him, with the help of the man whose bride killed herself after being raped and beaten by Uday on her wedding day. In an adapted version of the attempt on Uday's life made by the 15th Shaaban in 1996, Latif and his partner ambush Uday while he is attempting to lure young girls into his Porsche. Although his partner is killed, they manage to wound him severely, including mangling his genitals with a direct shot. One of Uday's bodyguards catches up to Latif as he flees the scene. However the guard, Ali, is one who Latif could have killed as he fled from Uday's birthday party before leaving the country but spared, and the guard extends him the same courtesy.
The film ends by stating that Latif has been a very difficult man to find after these events. [In truth, Latif is readily available to give interviews from his new home in Ireland.] [8][9] Uday was permanently handicapped by the attack but survived until his killing by U.S. forces in 2003.
Cast
- Dominic Cooper as Latif Yahia / Uday Hussein
- Philip Quast as Saddam Hussein
- Mem Ferda as Kamel Hana
- Dar Salim as Azzam Al-Tikriti
- Jamie Harding as Qusay Hussein
- Ludivine Sagnier as Sarrab
- Mimoun Oaïssa as Ali
- Akin Gazi as Saleeh
- Amrita Acharia as School Girl
- Frida Cauchi as Sajida Talfah
- Raad Rawi as Munem
- Khalid Laith as Yassem Al-Helou
- Pano Masti as Said Kammuneh
- Nasser Memarzia as Latif's father
- Tiziana Azzopardi as Latif's sister
- Abner Fabbro as Soldier
Production
The film was shot in Jordan and Malta.[10]
Reception
Critical response
The film received mixed reviews. The movie has a 52% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though much critical acclaim has been given to Dominic Cooper's dual role. IGN awarded it 3.5 out of 5 and said "certainly a fresh perspective on one of the Middle East's most brutal dictators".[3][4][5][6][7]
Accolades
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
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2012 | 38th Saturn Awards | Best Horror or Thriller Film | The Devil's Double | Nominated |
Best Actor | Dominic Cooper | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b "The Devil's Double". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
- CraveOnline. February 3, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
- ^ a b Tom Butler (July 28, 2011). "The Devil's Double Review – Movies Review at IGN". Movies. Archived from the original on May 18, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
- ^ a b "The Devil's Double Review". CinemaBlend. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
- ^ a b "Canadian, Music, Entertainment, Movies, Fashion, Reviews, Photos, Interviews and More". Rockstar Weekly. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
- ^ a b "Movie review: 'The Devil's Double'". Los Angeles Times. July 29, 2011.
- ^ a b "The Devil's Double". Chicago Sun-Times.
- TheGuardian.com. 13 August 2011.
- Independent.co.uk. 3 August 2011.
- ^ "Updated: Iraq movie being filmed in Malta". Times of Malta. 12 March 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
External links
- The Devil's Double at IMDb
- The Devil's Double at AllMovie
- The Devil's Double at Box Office Mojo
- The Devil's Double at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Devil's Double at Metacritic
- The Devil's Double at Official site