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The Devil's Double

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For the silent film, see The Devil's Double (1916 film).
The Devil's Double
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLee Tamahori
Screenplay byMichael Thomas
Based onThe Devil's Double
by Latif Yahia
Produced by
  • Paul Breuls
  • Michael John Fedun
  • Emjay Rechsteiner
  • Catherine Vandeleene
StarringDominic Cooper
Ludivine Sagnier
CinematographySam McCurdy
Edited byLuis Carballar
Music byChristian Henson
Production
company
Corsan
Distributed byA-Film Distribution
Release dates
  • 22 January 2011 (2011-01-22) (Sundance)
  • 29 July 2011 (2011-07-29) (United States)
  • 1 September 2011 (2011-09-01) (Netherlands)
Running time
108 minutes
Countries
  • Belgium
  • Netherlands
LanguageEnglish
Budget$19.1 million[1]
Box office$4.8 million[1]

The Devil's Double is a 2011 English-language Dutch-Belgian film directed by Lee Tamahori, written by Michael Thomas, and starring Dominic Cooper in the dual role of Uday Hussein and Latif Yahia. It was released on 22 January 2011 at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was released in limited theaters in the United States on 29 July 2011 by Lionsgate and Herrick Entertainment to mixed critic reviews.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Plot

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In 1987, Latif Yahia, an Iraqi soldier fighting in the Iran–Iraq War, is called to become a "fedai" ("body double" or political decoy) for Uday Hussein, the son of president Saddam. Latif comes from an upper-class family and attended school with Uday, where students would remark on their likeness. He refuses the position. Furious, Uday has him imprisoned and tortured. Latif relents when his family is threatened. Latif undergoes cosmetic surgery to perfect his resemblance to Uday and practices emulating the latter's mannerisms and persona. Latif tries to resist Uday's exorbitant merrymaking and erratic behavior, at one point fleeing a nightclub to attempt to see his family, who believe that he died in the war. However, he is apprehended by Uday's bodyguards and beaten by Uday. After an appearance at a conference with Kuwaiti leaders, an attempt is made on Uday's (Latif's) life, apparently by a member of a rebel opposition group, possibly a Kurd. The real Uday, though, is more concerned with the Kuwaitis, whom he believes were slant drilling into Iraq's Rumaila oil field. The First Gulf War is launched.

Uday kidnaps a 14-year-old girl on her way to school and forces her to escort him to a party.[a] There, Uday becomes enraged with Saddam's personal bodyguard Kamel Hana Gegeo. Uday believes that Gegeo facilitated an affair Saddam had,[b] which devastated his mother.[c] Uday is also jealous at the trust Saddam places in Gegeo. When Gegeo passes sarcastic comments about Uday's advances towards the girl and drunkenly fires an AK-47 in the air, Uday butchers him with a knife in front of the horrified guests before finishing him off with a gunshot to the head. The next morning, Uday's bodyguards dump the girl's beaten, partially naked body. Furious, Saddam goes to the hospital, where Uday is overdosed on sleeping pills. Saddam beats Uday and nearly castrates him. Only the intervention of a doctor saves him. As the war is in full swing, Latif tries to distance himself from Uday and begins an affair with Sarrab, one of Uday's lovers.

Latif, acting as Uday, is later sent to Basra to rally support among Republican Guard soldiers as Coalition forces took control of the war. At Basra, another attempt is made on Latif's life. Latif nearly loses a finger in the assault, which would mean Uday would have to amputate his own finger to maintain their resemblance. Uday enters a hospital and threatens to kill all members of staff if they fail to save his finger. The doctors succeed.

Afterwards, Uday, accompanied by his usual party, crashes a wedding, eventually raping and beating the bride, who then commits suicide. Angry, Latif assaults Uday but is corralled by the latter's bodyguards, who threaten to kill him. Uday stops them. Later, Latif is confronted by the father of the girl Uday killed. Uday overhears them 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. He is dumped half-dead on his family's front door. 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 misses shooting Latif when they arrive on the island. Angered by Sarrab's betrayal, he washes his hands of her. Uday later calls, offering Latif one final chance to return to Iraq, threatening to kill his father if he refuses. Latif's father encourages him not to return and is killed.

Latif returns to Iraq to kill Uday, aided by the man whose bride killed herself. They ambush Uday while he is attempting to lure young girls into his Porsche.[d] Although his partner is killed, they manage to severely wound Uday. 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 at Uday's birthday party but spared, and the guard extends him the same courtesy and allows Latif to escape.

Latif later lives in Ireland with his wife and their two children.[e] Uday is permanently handicapped by the attack but survives until his killing by U.S. forces in 2003.

Cast

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Production

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A Belgian and Dutch production, the film was shot in Jordan and Malta.[10]

Reception

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Critical response

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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

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Year Award Category Nominee Result
2012 38th Saturn Awards Best Horror or Thriller Film The Devil's Double Nominated
Best Actor Dominic Cooper Nominated

Notes

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  1. ^ Based on an actual 1988 celebration honoring Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's wife Suzanne.
  2. ^ With Samira Shahbandar.
  3. ^ Sajida Talfah.
  4. ^ This is an adapted version of the attempt on Uday's life made by the 15th Shaaban in 1996.
  5. ^ The film states that he became a hard man to find. In reality, he was readily available for interviews at this time.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Devil's Double". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  2. ^ "Lionsgate and Herrick Take on The Devil's Double". CominSoon. CraveOnline. February 3, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b "The Devil's Double Review". CinemaBlend. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Canadian, Music, Entertainment, Movies, Fashion, Reviews, Photos, Interviews and More". Rockstar Weekly. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Movie review: 'The Devil's Double'". Los Angeles Times. July 29, 2011.
  7. ^ a b "The Devil's Double". Chicago Sun-Times.
  8. ^ "The tangled tale behind the Devil's Double | Eoin Butler". TheGuardian.com. 13 August 2011.
  9. ^ "Is Uday Hussein's 'double' really just an impostor?". Independent.co.uk. 3 August 2011.
  10. ^ "Updated: Iraq movie being filmed in Malta". Times of Malta. 12 March 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
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