The Devil's Double   Starring: Dominic Cooper, Philip Quast and Ludivine Sagnier Icon Home Entertainment RRP: £15.99 ICON10233 Certificate: 18 Available 26 December 2011

Baghdad 1987. Latif is taken to see his former schoolmate Uday, eldest son to Saddam Hussein. Latif is told that a great honour had been bestowed upon him: because of the great likeness between them, he has been chosen to be Uday's body double. Trapped, tortured and fearful for the safety of his family Latif has no choice but to comply. Latif is forced to become part of Uday’s world, witnessing the horror of his insane life of gangsters and pimps. It is a world entrenched in betrayal and corruption, and an experience for which he almost pays with his life on more than one occasion...

The Devil's Double is very loosely based on a true story. Yes Latif was Uday's double and some of the incidents in this movie did happen, but the majority of the film is pure fiction. This isn't a huge issue though, as what's important is the journey of Latif from one person to the point where his and Uday's personalities become similar for a brief period. This means that there are areas in the film where the audience is never 100% certain who is who, which is an interesting angle that the director exploits well.

By far the most impressive aspect of the movie is the way that Dominic Cooper convinces you that he is both characters. Uday has not one single likable quality (a rarity for a main movie 'villain') while Latif is a normal guy thrust into this messed up world where money and power can buy you anything - from respect to the ability to murder without any consequences.

Some of the movie's scenes that are based on real scenarios include the well believed notion that Uday liked to kidnap women then rape and kill them, and the fact that he murdered his father's close friend and food taster, Kamel Hana Gegeo.

Extras include an oddly hidden director's commentary (which for some reason is under the "Set-Up" menu rather than the "Extras"); The Making of (4 min, 34 sec); Interview with Latif Yahia (4 min, 48 sec); Interview with Dominic Cooper (12 min, 07 sec); Production Design (4 min, 27 sec); Make Up (4 min, 25 sec); and UK Premiere Highlights (3 min, 02 sec).

In parts this is an uncomfortable movie to watch, as Udi's actions are random and quite without provocation or justification - the man takes what he wants and doesn't care for the consequences. The end result is a gripping, if somewhat disturbing, film. Sadly though it seems to lose its footing a little when Latif decides to go on the run. And there are a few messy plot threads that appear to make no sense. But if you can overlook these slight issues then this is a powerful film.

8

Darren Rea