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"Syriana," directed by Stephen Gaghan. Warner
Bros, 2005, 126 minutes.
Jargon Good, Oil Bad by Jo Ann Skousen
"Syriana" is about big government and big business and oil
deals and terrorism. It's about spies and counterspies and loyalty and betrayal.
It's about suicide and sacrifice and accidental death. And yet — it is one
of the most interminably boring movies I have seen in ages. Even the torture
scene is a disappointment (you'll know it's coming because the soundtrack begins
an ominous pounding beat, heralding the only bit of excitement in the first half
of the film). Forget what you've been hearing about this movie being "important"
and "Oscar-worthy" and in the style of "Traffic." The characters and locations
are so scattered, the characterizations and motivations so weak, the action so
lacking, that I found myself pleading, "Please! Just do something!"
| | Jo Ann
Skousen is a writer and critic living in New York.
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Mostly these people talk. They talk in coffee shops, in lines, in cars, in
offices, at parties, on boats, on TV. They speak glibly, and they use a lot of
MBA jargon: "In a climate of falling prices" . . . "Let us problem-solve that for
you" . . . "This merger is balance-positive." The women talk in the stern,
no-nonsense voices of agency executives, while the men whine about having to get
home for Johnny's birthday party or Susie's soccer game when asked to work late.
They talk about each other but not to each other, and they seldom call one
another by name, which makes it very difficult to keep everyone straight.
Here's an example: midway through the film a character reveals to another
character who the bad guy, the villain behind the corruption, is (this is never
really explained — I guess the fact that it involves an oil company is
considered explanation enough). I kept trying to remember the face that belonged
with the name. Was it Matt Damon? Christopher Plummer? The head of the oil
company? The character is mentioned frequently but never appears on screen again.
I finally had to go home and do a Google search of the cast and characters to
figure out who he was. And even now, remembering him on screen, I would have to
go back and watch the movie again to remember what he said or did. (Now that
would be real torture.) |
| Syriana is one of the
most interminably boring movies I have seen in ages. Even the torture scene is a
disappointment |
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The biggest problem with this film is that it doesn't tell a compelling story.
In a way, that's good; it avoids annoying stereotypes and acknowledges that there
are no easy solutions or obvious villains. But the characters are so thinly drawn
and so feebly connected to each other that it is difficult for the audience to
create a vicarious bond. We just don't much care. I found myself identifying with
the young Arab terrorists-in-training, simply be-cause they were the only ones
who seemed to bond with each other and struggle with their decisions. As
the credits rolled I overheard the man behind me say to his companion, "I want to
see that again." She responded, "I didn't get it either." I'm not sure seeing it
again would help all that much.
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