Stephen Gaghan/USA/2005; R4
Warner Bros, NZ$29.95 | Reviewed by John Spry

A CAUTIONARY tale of religion, greed, oil and a gun, Stephen Gaghan’s latest film released to DVD earlier last month. It follows his directorial debut, the disappointing Abandon (2002), and in turn follows the excellently scripted Traffic (2000), directed by Steven Soderbergh. Many of the same techniques employed in Traffic operate within the narrative of Syriana to give a similar but disparate effect.

This is both a return and a departure from Gaghan’s critical and box office triumph of Traffic. It is in particular a return to the mode of analyzing both a meta and micro narrative that places the subject matter within a wider context, all the while simultaneously running a parallel narrative illustrating personal loss. In a unique way, much like a documentary, sides are shown but not drawn.

In the postmodern era we inhabit, it is typical of Hollywood films to offer simplistic plots that are identified up by inventive narratives that themselves become characters in their own texts, acting as a distraction to the audience. This is not so in Syriana.

Though somewhat meaningless at first glace, the film’s title points to Pax Syriana, a reference to the “necessary state of peace between Syria and the U.S. as it relates to the oil business.” The film’s website states that the title is “a very real term used by Washington think-tanks to describe a hypothetical reshaping of the Middle East..." The title is in effect a metaphor for the film as well as a potential positioning of the film in modern cinema.

The narrative in question is linear in style, which could be considered simplistic, however Gaghan has taken this and infused the text with an almost cinéma vérité approach to the direction, as well as employing the cinematography to give the effect of inviting the audience to become a witness to events that are considered normally outside the public eye. We, as viewers are invited to watch characters play out scenes that, although foreign from everyday events, become clearer as we navigate through the plot of the film. This is by no means unique and is utilized in many productions, albeit as a device that gives a sense of authenticity to subject matter deemed to be of an important nature. It is also in use in television, and can be seen in such sci-fi fare as the latest incarnation of Battlestar Galactica, which uses the documentary feel to give an air of seriousness and to intensify action. The difference with Syriana is that the audience is being exposed to hidden and unknowable information from a wide variety of sources.

The plot of Syriana is another matter and this is one case where repeated viewing of the DVD is a must. At certain points the plot involves the CIA, the US government, private and public corporations, foreign governments, religious extremists, spies, families and a host of other interest groups that are interconnected with one another on many separate levels. This can lead to confusion, but the film does have many built in sign posts to the mapping of the story and to make sense of the motivating factors behind the myriad characters.

Each character has many facets and motivations depending on what the scene relates to, and the purpose of that moment in the film. The three core actors – George Clooney, Matt Damon and Jeffrey Wright – anchor the film and act as visual identifiers to the movement of the plot forward towards the climax of the film. Clooney portrays Bob, a CIA agent specializing in the Middle East as well as a family man and father of son attending University in the US. There is a delicate balancing act for Bob who balances his life between his family and the US government. Wright plays Bennett Holiday, a lawyer hoping to move up in the corporate world while ironing out a joint venture between oil companies, and who is balancing his life with an alcoholic father. Damon plays Bryan Woodman, who is married and has a wife and two young children living in a foreign country, and is employed by a small finance company trying to become involved in the Middle East through offering economic advice to the Sheiks who own oil rights. It is clear through his dealings that he has more to offer than oil advice and trying to build a new non-oil based economy that will exist long after oil reserves are gone. Of course idealistic men do not all succeed and this film has many lessons to offer that are not that far removed from Oliver Stone’s Wall Street (1987) – a film that illustrated the many downfalls of the capitalistic model that the US operates under.

Syriana is very much a performance-based piece that relies heavily on the actors as well as how they are portrayed on screen. Clooney and Damon over the past six years have proved they have the talent and the malleability to be leading men (The Bourne Identity/Supremacy; O Brother Where Art Thou, The Perfect Storm) or effective as character actors (Oceans 11/12, Good Night, and Good Luck, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) – rare in Hollywood filmmaking. They not only can be the main character but are willing to be billed lower or not be the focus of a particular film. What this means is that they can be in a higher order of film that does not rely on their names for the opening weekend grosses, which shines the critical light on the material itself, and can explain why Clooney was honored with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor at this years Academy Awards.


THE FILM is presented in widescreen and is enhanced for widescreen televisions – especially helpful in tight shots. The special features on the DVD, whilst limited, are enjoyable and are directly related to the feature and the subject matter at hand. The conversation with George Clooney explains the nature of the film, the way the structure has been organized and subject matter. Clooney also goes on to say that it is the most collaborative effort he has been involved in and the understanding of the film was essential in the creation of a believable world.

It is refreshing to view a film that not only makes you think about a current ideas, but also offers new ideas on what is quickly becoming daily news in newspapers and on news websites. The film tackles issues of the role of government; the role of private companies; the idea of oil in relation to now only a nation’s identity, but also to a concept of reliance and an international barter system that trades oil for unwanted weaponry. The film is not only accessible, but demands multiple viewings to really understand the machinations of the intense and complex characters that operate without a safety net in international economics and politics.