In theory, The Devil's Double should be an extremely fascinating movie. Based on Latif Yahia's book of the same title, the story follows Yahia's days as the body double for Saddam Hussein’s demented elder son Uday Hussein. Alongside drugs, women, and luxury, the book goes off on describing some of Uday’s manic behaviors that were often inhumanely brutal. Depicting those features into a film sounds like a great piece of work. Or does it?
Director Lee Tamahori, who’s known stateside for his work on Die Another Day (probably the worst 007 film ever), xXx: State of the Union (an awful sequel), and Next (only notable for Nicolas Cage's hilarious hairdo), isn’t someone we're about to cosign.
Plus, Dominic Cooper as Uday? Right, Al Pacino wasn’t Cuban, and Elizabeth Taylor wasn’t Egyptian. But it’s 2011, Hollywood. Having an English actor playing the role of Saddam Hussein’s son seems a bit far-fetched. We don’t expect him to speak Arabic, but we’re certain there’s at least one actor of Middle Eastern origin who could’ve donned the role.
To be fair, though, Cooper’s attempt to play two roles at once seems worthy of at least a little praise. And as we mentioned, the plotline itself is appealing enough for a look.
We’ll find out for sure on July 29.
