The Devils Double

The Devils Double

Starring: Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Raad Rawi, Philip Quast

Rated:R

Summoned to Saddam Hussein’s Palace Latif Yahia soon learns that his life as he knows it is permanently changed he no longer will be Latif but will in fact be the fiday(body double) for Saddams eldest son Uday.

Taking place in the late 80’s The Devils Double is the unbelievable true story of Latif Yhaia(Dominic Cooper) who against his own will is forced to become the fiday for Uday Hussein (Dominic Cooper) eldest son of Saddam and a sadistic party boy who does what he wants, takes what he wants and does it all with no consequences. Soon Latif is giving speeches and making public appearances as Uday putting himself in the line of fire during assassination attempts, witnessing unthinkable acts while at the same time living the lavish lifestyle of a prince with the chances of leaving growing dimmer and dimmer.

Dominic Cooper delivers a masterful and compelling performance as both Uday and Latif. He is truly astounding in his dual role. One minute he is a man of integrity as Latif, the next as Uday a mad man who thinks nothing of kidnapping a school girl for his personal pleasure, the lifeless body thrown on the side of the road when he is done with her. There are multiple times where Latif gets into a verbal exchange with Uday, tempers are running hot with an air of crazy permeating the scene, seeing such a stark contrast in personality and never making the audience think this is the same person is what sends Coopers performance to the next level. The film however is not for the squeamish, Uday while charismatic is an abomination of a human being raping, killing and torturing whenever the mood strikes. The longer Latif is part of the family the harder Uday makes it for him to escape, upping the consequences and ultimately making the story all that more engrossing.

The Devils Double is a fantastic look inside the house of Hussein and a tale so insane that it’s easy to forget it’s a true story.

Grade-88