If you know only one thing about me, kids, it’s that if a film centers around an historical event, I’m more than ready to provide some context. Today, we’re gonna talk about geopolitical deals, the United Nations, and scandals aplenty. Sounds fun, right?
So, as you might know, Iraq was saddled with some hefty sanctions following the First Gulf War. These sanctions were meant to keep Saddam Hussein’s regime relatively demilitarized, but they also had an adverse effect on the general Iraqi populace, who suffered from a lack of basic necessities, like food and electricity and whatnot. In response to these issues, US President Clinton introduced, and the UN Security Council passed, a resolution setting up the Oil-for-Food Programme, under which Iraq could sell its oil reserves on the global markets and use the funds to purchase food and medicine for its citizens. The program began in December 1996, nearly $60 billion worth of oil was sold, and the program was shut down about seven years later, as the foundational sanctions were lifted due to the US invasion of Iraq.
Now, this all sounds all well and good, but the program was riddled with allegations of bribery, kickbacks, and all sorts of miscellaneous corruption and abuses. Profits are said to have been skimmed, funds redirected (often back to the Iraqi government and to Al-Qaeda), and influence bought, sold, and transferred along with the money and oil. A good portion of the food delivered (upon which a majority of Iraq’s population relied for everyday survival) is said to have been unfit for human consumption (according to the independent report headed by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volker). It was an absolute mess, casting a shadow on the whole of UN operations up to then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
The whistle was blown by UN humanitarian worker Michael Soussan, and his experiences were detailed in his memoir Backstabbing for Beginners, which was then adapted into a feature film (who’da thunk?).
The film follows Soussan stand-in Michael Sullivan as he lands his dream job at the UN. While working with the Oil-for-Food Programme, he comes face-to-face with the aforementioned corruption, as well as the bureaucratic nightmare such a massive program can bring with it. Insert disillusionment, usw.
It’s generally a struggle to put to film a heavily bureaucratic situation, as it requires a deft hand, tight control, and a focus on tension. Unfortunately, Danish writer/director Per Fly (whose previous works I have not seen) doesn’t seem up to the challenge here. The plot and camera glide about, barely allowing the viewer much footing for contextual surroundings. It could be argued that this loose, casual approach mirrors the inherent confusion an idealist like Sullivan would feel when introduced into this manic, corrupt nightmare, but Sullivan seems to take things much easier than we do, leaving us often wondering what’s exactly going on and why we should care about anything. The handheld camera and dark earth colors – heavy on the beige and graphite – evoke similar feelings as The Hunt, but the too-smooth and lax direction don’t create the tension necessary for the colors to work, relegating the picture to extreme drabness. Todor Kobakov’s score is hardly perceptible, seemingly aware of its surroundings.
The acting doesn’t help anything. Theo James is an absolute charisma void in the lead, bringing little in the way of genuine emotion or intellect, reinforcing the drab nature of the visuals. Apparently Josh Hutcherson was initially in line to star, but he bowed out due to security concerns about filming in Morocco. I’m not sure if he would have done much better than James, but he would likely at least have brought along some semblance of personality. Sir Ben Kingsley is fine as James’s boss, but even he tends to slide into phoning-it-it mode, the proper accompaniment to the nothing happening on screen. The rest of the cast just goes through the motions, much like everyone else involved.
So, yeah, this film is even more dull than reading about United Nations logistics chains (no offense to those into that, we need geeks like you to get things done). It doesn’t bring much to the table as far as the political thriller genre is concerned, despite its wider-than-usual target, mostly because there are no thrills to be had, nothing insightful to learn. I’d give this a general pass, but if you’re strongly into the material, a future rental would more than suffice.
Allusions of Grandeur 