The Devil’s Double
It’s a killer role – Latif Yahia, body double to Saddam Hussein’s nut-case son Uday – and British actor Dominic Cooper crushes it. Hell, he crushes it twice, since he plays Latif and Uday. This is not the Cooper you saw prancing on the beach in Mamma Mia! This is a breakthrough star performance from a terrific actor getting a chance to let it rip. Just don’t expect a docudrama. Director Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day) likes to get right up in your face as Uday rapes underage girls and tortures and kills with the same impunity. Latif is appalled by it all, except for Uday’s mistress (Ludivine Sagnier), yet Uday will kill Latif’s family if he doesn’t play human target for an outraged populace. The movie is one hot mess, but the dynamite Cooper makes it work.
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