The Devil's Double

The 2011 film "The Devil's Double," directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Dominic Cooper in a dual role, is an intriguing and compelling dive into the nocturnal world of corruption, extravagance, and brutality. The movie is based on the life of Latif Yahia, an army lieutenant forced to become the doppelganger of Uday Saddam Hussein, the illustrious and infamous elder son of Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator.

Dominic Cooper delivers a riveting performance, portraying both the roles of Uday Hussein, the bold and maniacal heir apparent to Saddam Hussein's Iraq, and Latif Yahia, the honorable man trapped in this dangerous game of doppelganger. The film showcases Cooper's solid acting talent, as he brings strikingly dissimilar personalities to life — Uday, a man marked by debauchery and psychopathic tendencies, and Latif, a soldier possessing a strong sense of duty and morality.

The film opens up during the Iran-Iraq war in 1987 when Latif, then a soldier in the Iraqi army, is called upon the so-called 'Black Prince' Uday, owing to their striking resemblance. What ensitle next is an involuntary journey of Latif into the heart of darkness — as Uday's fidai (body double). Disguised as the Hussein's son, Latif's primary role is to make public appearances in the guise of Uday, presenting himself as a target, thereby 'protecting' Uday. To add accuracy to this disguise, he even undergoes surgeries and dental adjustments.

One of the fascinating aspects of this film is its exploration of the Hussein family's opulence and savage antics, deeply entrenched in the politics of absolute power. Uday's world is presented as a chaotic whirlwind of endless partying, sadistic violence, complete disregard for human life, and drug abuse.

While managing to maintain his moral compass, Latif is continually pressed into unethical and dangerous situations. This allows the film to contemplate on themes of identity, morality, power, and survival's cost. Caught in this deadly facade of high-stakes doubles game, Latif struggles to keep his integrity intact, while navigating the dangerous labyrinth of political corruption, seduction and betrayal.

Dominic Cooper’s portrayal of Uday Hussein is a chilling highlight of the film. With a wild look in his eyes, he captures the essence of a man that people both fear and despise. Cooper convincingly switches between a casual cruel demeanor of Uday, to the more somber and unwilling compliance of Latif.

Complementing Cooper's stellar performance, Ludivine Sagnier, as Uday's mistress Sarrab, performs her role with complexity and a certain kind of desperate courage that brings a different layer to the film. Her role and her interactions with both Uday and Latif further enhance the dramatic tension.

The movie is set in a time and place of unabashed opulence juxtaposed with grotesque violence, in the backdrop of 1980s Iraq. Tamahori expertly weaves a narrative that never shies away from showing the horrors of Uday's lifestyle, his spoiled and erratic nature, and the ominous atmosphere that hangs over Baghdad during Saddam Hussein's rule.

That being said, the film is certainly not for the faint-hearted as it displays a no-holds-barred account of Uday Hussein's notorious lifestyle. The decadent public parties, gold-plated AK-47s, and Uday's assorted, unchecked cruelties paint a disturbing picture of capricious power seen through the lenses of the reluctant Latif.

"The Devil's Double" poses an intriguing contrast – a tale of two personalities housed in nearly identical bodies but with starkly conflicting moralities. It is an extraordinary biographical adaptation into a world filled with excess, dread, and violence, brilliantly performed by Dominic Cooper, amidst an equally compelling cast.

While the film doesn't offer a well-rounded geopolitical context of that time, it does not sway from providing a gripping character study of its contentious principal characters. The Devil's Double is certainly a gut-wrenching but engrossing journey into the heart of Iraq's infamous dictatorship era, seen through the eyes of a man forced to exist in the shadow of his monstrous double.