Film Review of Syrianna

p Film Review of Syrianna

Film Review of Syrianna If you 're looking for a depiction of the ultimate speed-freak liberal 's global-poltical conspiracy theory -- with time-dilation and sub-plots that would confuse Steven Hawking -- Stephen Gaghan 's Syriana (2005 might just be the movie for you . On the other hand , if you 're more interested in the preservation of natural character development and the progression of a discernable plot along more traditional (and often more absorbing ) lines then Syriana is liable to make your blood boil . While the film

packs considerable intellectual and artistic punch , the more correct way of phrasing it would be to say : Syriana packs a multitude of medium punches , some of which land and others which miss entirely

Syriana 's screenplay compliments Gaghan 's prior screenplay Traffic (2000 ) by adhering to a multiple PoV plot as well as to many flashbacks cutaways , and sub-plots . Merging such a strategy with an already complex set of themes and issues makes Syriana feel a little bit like an over inflated soft-pretzel , when it should feel more like a steel saber or a flaring Torch of Truth . While Traffic conveyed a loose sense of inter-connectedness between the many characters and sub-stories by relating them emotionally -- if not always logistically -- Syriana tackles the much more difficult task of resolving its Gorgon 's-wig of writhing plot-lines into a framework of international politics and economics which , alone could fuel a dozen three-hour documentaries

So , Syriana is bloated , disjointed , non-linear , ambitious , and veers wildly from action-thriller to maudlin character-study -- kind of like Moby Dick . And like Moby Dick , it 's easy to become either so bored confused , or distracted while following the story 's plot that you 're liable to miss something necessary for understanding the plot as it unfolds . With Moby Dick you might skip a page or a few pages , even , and be OK , if you start fast-forwarding through Syriana , you will be lost as in Amazon jungle lost

It is impossible to summarize the film 's plot . The mind reels at the image of the successive drafts of Syriana 's script . Suffice to say , the movie deals with the impact of Big Oil and Big Money in both political and human terms , much the way Traffic deal with cocaine and drugs . Oil and drugs and money can all be lumped together in Gaghan 's mythos That 's as close to a succinct summary of the film 's theme as can be mustered . And while that succinct summary is accepted and believed by the viewer before seeing the film , the film 's conclusions and statements will appear as mana . On the other hand , if one disputes the idea that money , drugs , and oil can , for all intents and purposes , be lumped together as the Holy Trinity of Human Corruption , then nothing that happens in Syriana , whether it be artistically or story-related is going to change the viewer 's original disposition

As far as a synopsis of the plot...