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The Devil's Double

  • 2011
  • R
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
65K
YOUR RATING
Dominic Cooper in The Devil's Double (2011)
Forced to become the body double of Uday Hussein, Latif Ahmed (Cooper) bears witness to daily life under Saddam Hussein's reign, from lavish extravagances to sadistic acts of brutality.
Play trailer2:31
4 Videos
46 Photos
Political DramaPolitical ThrillerBiographyDramaThriller

A chilling vision of the house of Saddam. The world of Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was given a choice; either be the double for Saddam's sadistic son, or die.A chilling vision of the house of Saddam. The world of Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was given a choice; either be the double for Saddam's sadistic son, or die.A chilling vision of the house of Saddam. The world of Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was given a choice; either be the double for Saddam's sadistic son, or die.

  • Director
    • Lee Tamahori
  • Writers
    • Michael Thomas
    • Latif Yahia
    • Emjay Rechsteiner
  • Stars
    • Dominic Cooper
    • Ludivine Sagnier
    • Raad Rawi
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    65K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Lee Tamahori
    • Writers
      • Michael Thomas
      • Latif Yahia
      • Emjay Rechsteiner
    • Stars
      • Dominic Cooper
      • Ludivine Sagnier
      • Raad Rawi
    • 159User reviews
    • 137Critic reviews
    • 52Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 nominations total

    Videos4

    The Devil's Double
    Trailer 2:31
    The Devil's Double
    "Transformation"
    Clip 1:27
    "Transformation"
    "Transformation"
    Clip 1:27
    "Transformation"
    The Devil's Double: Transformation (Online Exclusive Clip)
    Clip 1:28
    The Devil's Double: Transformation (Online Exclusive Clip)
    The Devil's Double: Mirror
    Clip 1:02
    The Devil's Double: Mirror

    Photos46

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    Top cast48

    Edit
    Dominic Cooper
    Dominic Cooper
    • Uday Hussein…
    Ludivine Sagnier
    Ludivine Sagnier
    • Sarrab
    Raad Rawi
    Raad Rawi
    • Munem
    Philip Quast
    Philip Quast
    • Saddam Hussein…
    Mimoun Oaïssa
    • Ali
    • (as Mimoun Oaissa)
    Khalid Laith
    Khalid Laith
    • Yassem Al-Helou
    Dar Salim
    Dar Salim
    • Azzam
    Nasser Memarzia
    Nasser Memarzia
    • Latif's Father
    Mem Ferda
    Mem Ferda
    • Kamel Hannah
    Pano Masti
    Pano Masti
    • Said
    Akin Gazi
    Akin Gazi
    • Saad
    Stewart Scudamore
    Stewart Scudamore
    • Father of School Girl
    Amrita Acharia
    Amrita Acharia
    • School Girl
    • (as Amrita Acaria)
    Elektra Anastasi
    Elektra Anastasi
    • School Girl 2
    Amber Rose Revah
    Amber Rose Revah
    • Bride
    Selva Rasalingam
    Selva Rasalingam
    • Rokan
    Samson Leguesse
    • Mercedes Driver
    Sarah-Lee Zammit
    • Amer
    • (as Sarah Lee Zammit)
    • Director
      • Lee Tamahori
    • Writers
      • Michael Thomas
      • Latif Yahia
      • Emjay Rechsteiner
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews159

    7.064.8K
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    Featured reviews

    4eismoc

    The film's OK, But..

    Great deal of this movie is not true. Yet, this movie tells about 1/100th of the truth about the tyrant of Baghdad and his family in the 1990's. The other 99 parts are still under oblivion, thanks the the author and to the current chaotic regime of Baghdad. The movie is fine because even that 1% counts to understand what was really going on for the people in Iraq at that time.

    But there is a serious drawback when someone watches this movie knowing that at the time of movie release in 2011, the main character and the author, Latif Yahia, was (and still is) glorifying the tyrant and calling on people to re-establish his era in Iraq. He actually has a YouTube channel filled with his political opinions and his shameless strange sympathy to the tyrant!! So whatever the author's claims about his political views, or about his own opinions of not having political views; he was not opposing the tyrant, and still not; he was one of the tyrant's followers and still is.

    Now watching the movie knowing that the writer and main character stands there, it will make the audience uncomfortable and cautious to accept what's being told in this movie without questioning.

    Aside from that, directing was weak in general, and the story is not as the original Arabic book (I Was A Son For The President), but a revised version of the English edition which was a revised version of the Arabic edition!

    For example in the Arabic edition the main character was claimed to be a ranked army officer, in the movie he was just a soldier. In the original story it was claimed that the tyrant saw and examined his son's double for a few times, in the movie that wasn't happening. Now if this was a history book/movie then.. voila! There is a good definition for the person who says what he doesn't think and thinks what he doesn't say, and changes his saying/thoughts 3 times in a day...
    4GameAndWatch

    Attack of the clone

    I'm a big fan of Dominic Cooper, but he's not enough to save this truly bizarre and puerile film.

    The film starts off with Uday hiring a doppleganger of himself (Latif), to pass off as him publicly. Latif, hasn't really a choice, and is portrayed as having some morals, Uday is portrayed as a millionaire playboy, who is a murdering brute who gets off on violence, sodomy and rape. His only redeeming quality is his penchant for 80s British synth pop (?).

    The film becomes increasingly outlandish. If it were a true story, then this could have been quite fascinating. I learnt nothing, and by the end had tuned out. It reminded me of the last king of Scotland, which I didn't enjoy either.

    I thought it were unnecessary for Cooper to play both the leads. It felt unbelievable as both characters appeared unrealistically identical.

    I knew nothing of the back story of Uday, a quick glance at Wikipedia describes him as quite the devil. That much the film gets right. There's some artistic license used at the end of the movie.
    8JvH48

    Entertaining inside view in the former Baghdad. Some discomforting parts, but without political intentions (quote from film maker)

    I saw "The Devil's Double" at the Berlinale 2011. An unusual large number (over 300) stayed for the full 30 minutes of Q&A after the screening. The producer warned us that we should expect not too much of the political impact of this film. It is better (his words) to regard it as just a gangster movie. We also learned that the stand-in situation that seemed compressed here in a smaller time frame, in fact existed for a full 4 years. We saw that Latif succeeded in keeping his hands reasonably clean, but it cannot have been real for such a time span. We still may wonder how much of this life he was pulled-in, against his will and his nature, but nevertheless being part of it.

    According to the film maker, what we saw was in more respects not completely accurate. Some freedom was exercised while portraying the situation in Baghdad at that time. The existence of stand-in's, however, was realistic and publicly known. That went as far as showing them openly, if only to confuse potential attackers. It certainly reduced the risk in public appearances, since one could never know whether you saw the real one, or a double dressed and acting like the real one.

    There were also questions about using English as the prime language. The producer had some arguments in favor of the choices made. Firstly, raising a 50M budget for a movie with Arabic speaking actors, was considered a Mission Impossible. Also, English is generally accepted as the standard movie language, spoken by Roman emperors as well as aliens from other planets.

    The Q&A also revealed some facts about how Dominic Cooper handled his double role. We now know that he played both roles on the same day, given the entourage and colleague actors present that day. He always played the "lunatic" parts first, and (without much time in between) the "Latif" parts shortly after that. Of course, there was a challenge in keeping track of the places where the counterpart actor stood at particular moments during the scene. Anyway, if he missed a few and looked in a wrong direction at some instances, I did not notice it and I think the same of other people seeing this film for the first time.

    At various moments throughout the screening the notion crossed my mind that this movie could be construed as a justification of overturning the Sadam regime, or (in other words) as propaganda in favor of George W for a completed project in Iraq. In retrospect, I don't think such a hidden meaning was intended. The film was not against Sadam as a dictator in particular, but rather against dictators in general. They existed and ruled since the time of the Roman emperors (and probably before that), and still are ruling nowadays in countries all over the world. We see the wrong side effects of unlimited power. We also see how uncooperative people were regarded "that is the thanks we get for uplifting this country" (or variations thereof).

    Political issues and hidden meanings set aside, we saw a well constructed story line, believable casting, and an inside view in the palace and its inhabitants at that time. One can argue about the torture, punishment and other violent scenes, that these better could be left out, or otherwise included implicitly by telling about it (without showing actual pictures). On the other hand, leaving these out would change the film too much into a costume drama, thereby reducing the impact it now will have on the average viewer. Anyway, it is easy for us to criticize choices being made by the film makers. In my opinion they did their job very well, all things considered.
    9luckyfay

    Dominic Cooper's Performance

    I saw this movie not realizing that both leads were being played by one amazing actor!!! Dominic Cooper was exactly that: amazing. And deserving of an Oscar nomination when the time comes for handing them out. My film club was fortunate enough to have an interview with DC via Skype and found him to be as charming as he is talented.

    Some seem to find fault with this film because it reminds them of Scarface. I don't get that at all. Perhaps they mean that at times it is operatic, over the top, but it is, after all, a biopic about a crazy man, and to me anyway, the parts of the film that deal with the double offset the high drama perfectly. Highly recommended!
    PopCultureWhore

    One Of The Best Films Of 2011

    There are many ways to describe Uday Hussein, Saddam Hussein's oldest son. None of them are positive.

    The Devil's Double is a "take no prisoners" film that's as hard to watch as it is entertaining. It follows Latif Yahia (Dominic Cooper), an Iraqi soldier from an upper class family, who is plucked from the war to act as Uday's double. Uday (also played by Cooper), remembers the comparisons the two would get when they jointly attended grade school. He asks Yahia to be his double - for both political and personal reasons. Like his father, Uday is in a constant state of worry over an assassination attempt. Further, he wants to send Yahia on personal trips that he himself doesn't wish to attend. Yahia, kind and warm, refuses, but is forced to with the threat of harm to his family. Yahia is given cosmetic surgery and dentures to complete the look.

    Yahia is thrust into Uday's world. This is a world filled with rape, torture, murder, drugs, sex and money. The lifestyle that the Hussein's live is more than Presidential - it is royal. Immediately, Uday claims Yahia as his own property. Uday has grown into a monster, getting whatever he wants and never having to deal with the consequences. Yahia is who he wants. The atrocities he witnesses because of Uday disgust him, but he is stuck in this nightmare. We watch as Uday preys upon young girls walking home from school. We watch as he guts his father's best friend at a party. We watch Yahia struggle with the lifestyle he is forced to live. Uday's fascination with Yahia grows stronger and it enters your mind that Uday may actually be in love with his double. This doesn't necessarily mean in a romantic way, but because his love of himself is so great, that he sees Yahia as apart of himself.

    While the rest, as they say, is history, I certainly don't want to spoil the way the rest of the film plays out. This is a movie that you must see for yourself!

    The acting in dual roles by Cooper, his first film as lead, is Oscar worthy. He gives both men their own voices, mannerisms and idiosyncrasies, that instantly allow the viewer to tell them apart. Subdued and stoic, Cooper plays Yahia as a guilt ridden man, grappling with the life he has been thrust into. He plays Uday as a manic, hyper madman with a broken smile and a creepy laugh. You literally believe they are two different actors.

    Latif is an ordinary man who is thrust into an extraordinary situation. An object of admiration for the President's son, he has no choice but to comply with the excruciating horrors that are put forth before him. Never once, however, do we seem his morals waver.

    We know how it ends, but as with life, it's the journey that's important. The Devil's Double is the real life, Middle Eastern Scarface. Powerful, unsettling, thrilling and always entertaining, The Devil's Double, is quite easily one of the best movies of 2011.

    From PopCultureWhore.com

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      There is a reference to The Godfather in one of the first scenes where Latif is impersonating Uday. He acts as a double when entering and leaving an important meeting. When he leaves and is shot at by a young boy an orange cart is shown prominently with oranges falling. Oranges were present whenever death occurred or was about to in The Godfather and there was an orange cart featured when Don Corleone was shot at it.
    • Goofs
      In a lot of car scenes the driver is on the right side, but in Iraq the driver seat is on the left.
    • Quotes

      Munem: Please be clear about this, Latif. Uday has chosen you. You belong to him. You have about five minutes to think about this. Before a car pulls up outside your house in Al-Adhamiya and your family, everyone one of them - your father, your mother, your sisters and brothers; is thrown into Abu Ghraib. God willing, they will die quickly. I've said too much. You have about two minutes left.

    • Connections
      Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 10 August 2011 (2011)
    • Soundtracks
      You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
      Written by Pete Burns (as Peter Jozzepi Burns), Steve Coy(as Stephen Coy), Mike Percy (as Michael David Percy), Tim Lever (as Timothy John Lever)

      Performed by Dead or Alive

      Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd

      Published by Burning Music Ltd (PRS), Westbury Music Ltd

      All rights on behalf of Burning Music Ltd

      Administered by Warner/Chappell Ltd

      All Rights Reserved

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    FAQ

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 2, 2012 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • Belgium
      • Netherlands
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Bản Sao Của Quỷ
    • Filming locations
      • Villa Blanche, Hal Far, Malta
    • Production companies
      • Corsan
      • Staccato Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $19,100,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,361,512
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $96,414
      • Jul 31, 2011
    • Gross worldwide
      • $5,728,213
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 49 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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