Apparently the greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world split-screens don’t exist. In a commendable dual performance, Dominic Cooper plays both Latif Yahia, an Iraqi soldier of Kurdish background, who is handpicked to be the official doppelgänger of Uday Hussein, and the son of Saddam himself.
Harnessing his innate ability to be both charming and creepy, Cooper creates two unique characters, who – even when side-by-side and identical – evince completely distinctive energies. His bratty, gap-toothed, hyena-cackling, AK-47-waving Uday is a masterful performance of the cavalier circus of cruelty; a veritable clown prince of evil. By contrast, the long-suffering Latif is never once tempted by the wealth and women his new lifestyle has to offer. Disgusted by Uday’s childish but lethal temper tantrums and his frequent molestation and murder of underage girls, he remains on the side of right, though utterly powerless.

Unfortunately it’s not only Latif that is powerless. The Devil’s Double is a curious anomaly. The quality of Cooper’s dual contribution is fatally undermined by an excruciatingly awful script. By never allowing Latif’s resolve to waver, Tamahori misses a potentially fascinating inner struggle and character arc. In contrast, Latif’s enduring goodness becomes dull and unengaging, simply because on an entertainment level, his passive boy scout indignation can’t compare to the shocking antics of Uday’s macabre Groucho Marx.
With no narrative arc to distract the audience, the gimmicks of The Devil’s Double are left to stagnate onscreen, becoming staler with each passing moment. The accented characters spout Americanisms as frequently as they shoot guns in the air, and Tamahori’s action becomes increasingly silly as he throws in absurd, intestine-spilling violence and plenty of superfluous sex, with the horribly miscast Ludivine Sagnier (Swimming Pool) taking her clothes off onscreen yet again. Contrasted with this made-for-TV sleaze, the use of real footage of Iraq bombings seems incredibly tasteless, adding to the feeling that this is also a bad exercise in propaganda.

Cooper’s performance is worth seeing, but as interesting historical dramas go, Tamahori forgot that the devil’s in the details.to the shocking antics of Uday’s macabre Groucho Marx.
With no narrative arc to distract the audience, the gimmicks of The Devil’s Double are left to stagnate onscreen, becoming staler with each passing moment. The accented characters spout Americanisms as frequently as they shoot guns in the air, and Tamahori’s action becomes increasingly silly as he throws in absurd, intestine-spilling violence and plenty of superfluous sex, with the horribly miscast Ludivine Sagnier (Swimming Pool) taking her clothes off onscreen yet again. Contrasted with this made-for-TV sleaze, the use of real footage of Iraq bombings seems incredibly tasteless, adding to the feeling that this is also a bad exercise in propaganda.
Cooper’s performance is worth seeing, but as interesting historical dramas go, Tamahori forgot that the devil’s in the details.