Directed by Paul GreengrassStarring Matt Damon, Brendan Gleeson
Score: 10 out of 10
In this day and age, as people are yelling epithets that would have been embarrassing just a few years ago and seemingly rational people think bringing sidearms to healthcare rallies make sense, it’s hard to believe a movie like Green Zone was given the green light. While the trailers make the film look like an action extravaganza reuniting Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (It’s Bourne 4!), Green Zone is actually a smart political thriller about the current Iraq war.
Matt Damon is Roy Miller, nicknamed “Chief”, an officer in the U.S. Army who leads a team charged with hunting down weapons of mass destruction in the early days of the conflict. There’s just one problem: while he and his men risk their lives at every location, the intel is simply no good. Site after site, more evidence mounts that makes it clear the information the Army is receiving is not reliable.
Miller voices his concerns and, while shut down by a commanding officer, is approached by a CIA operative (Brendan Gleeson, who does smart and disheveled better than few others) who agrees with the assessment. That’s what makes Miller go off-script following a lead by a staunch nationalist, who may not like the American presence, but appreciates that it put an end to Saddam’s reign of tyranny.
What follows is an indictment of corrupt politicians and the media. Greengrass, through a script written by Brian Helgeland (based on a book by Rajiv Chandrasekaran), pieces together a scenario where key decision-makers within the U.S. government manipulated, distorted, and, often, outright, lied about intel to make it fit the goal of invading Iraq to usurp Saddam from power. Then it adds the media as a cherry on top of the war sundae, indicting them for believing the dish as presented, never invoking the age-old reporter’s brand of inquistiveness.
To be sure, none of the story is true except for the bare edges. (Although maybe it is....) That mere fact though doesn’t make the film any less enjoyable as a taut, unapologetically-intelligent political thriller of the kind we rarely see anymore. Some (see Fox News) have described the film as anti-American. Not so. There was once a time in this country when bringing to light corrupt leaders or lying politicans was celebrated. Now it’s seen as disturbingly anti-American if said-politician endorses your point-of-view.
And that’s why I’m shocked Green Zone ever saw the light of day especially with its $130 million price tag. It’s a well-acted, sharply directed, engrossing film that dares to point to current world events and America’s place in them and ask, “Why?”
