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Blu-ray Review: BACKSTABBING FOR BEGINNERS

Apr 23, 2018 Posted by in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Backstabbing For Beginners is a political thriller based on the actual events chronicled in the memoirs of the same name, written by Michael Soussan.

The year is 2002, and 24-year-old Michael Sullivan (Theo James) is an idealist who wants to make a difference in the world as a diplomat. His father worked in the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, but was killed in a bombing when Michael was very young. Michael has applied for a position at the UN four times, and is surprised when he not only gets offered a job, but a dream job. His position is as special assistant to the UN Under-Secretary-General of the Oil-for-Food program, Pasha (Ben Kingsley). The program was established in 1995 to give the UN the right to manage the sale of Iraqi oil and use profits for humanitarian relief in the country. Over 20 million people rely on this program for food and medicine. However, the program’s $10B budget must be re-evaluated and re-approved every 6 months.

Michael quickly discovers large kickbacks and discrepancies in the program’s budget, but when he brings this information to his boss, Pasha shreds the report and tells him to stop looking into it. There are those who want to terminate the sanctions against Saddam Hussein and end the Food-for-Oil program, and this is the fuel they could use to do so. One of these people is Madame Christina Dupre (Jacqueline Bisset) at the UN headquarters in Baghdad. Michael is sent to Baghdad to present the case to keep the program. There he meets translator Nashim (Belçim Bilgin), who informs him of the ineffectiveness of the Food-for-Oil program, noting that the food and medicine is not getting to those in need. She also warns him that the car accident that killed his predecessor was no accident—the man had acquired a list of names of important government officials who were all accepting bribes in order to keep the lucrative Food-for-Oil program going, and his predecessor was murdered to keep him silent.

At first Michael finds himself swept up in the romance of the situation—it is a mix of high adventure with a worthy cause, it is his Casablanca. However, the more he learns, the more his sense of idealism is replaced with cynicism. He knows the right thing to do is to blow the whistle on all of this corruption, but it’s a struggle. Can he get the information he needs, and who can he trust? It seems like everywhere he turns, there is some new threat, or someone on the payroll. And the situation grows more and more dangerous as people start dying in unfortunate “accidents”.
 

I high hopes for Backstabbing For Beginners—the cast is great, and the movie looked exciting from the trailer. The film itself has great production value, and the performances by the leads are well done. However, I found the overall story to be a bit of a letdown. The film never quite became the exciting thriller I had expected. While there are some tense moments and surprises, these were short-lived. Michael may receive a threat one moment, and then things seem back to normal in the next. He seems to be able to freely travel back and forth between Baghdad and the U.S. without any fear. It’s unclear at times who all of the various parties involved are, where their loyalties lie, and what their motives are. The film seems to rely on the viewer having a deeper knowledge of the political background and history of Iraq, Baghdad and the sanctions against Saddam Hussein in order to fully understand this. After watching the film through twice, I still couldn’t fully grasp the whole controversy surrounding the Food-for-Oil program and why some folks at the UN were proponents of removing the sanctions. Perhaps those who understand more about international politics/history will enjoy this film more than I did.

This Blu-ray release provides a solid video and audio presentation. The picture is clean and detailed, and the audio track provides clear dialogue and makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels for the action sequences and soundtrack. The only bonus feature is an 8-minute interview with the director/screenwriter. The Blu-ray comes packed in a standard HD keepcase with a cardboard slipcover. The release also includes an Ultraviolet Digital HD copy of the film (this is not compatible with Movies Anywhere).



What’s Included:

Film: (1:48:19)

Blu-ray:

  • 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
  • Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
  • Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Digital HD:

  • Ultraviolet Digital HD copy redeemable via Vudu or FandangoNow
    (Not Compatible with Movies Anywhere)

Extras:

  • The Truth Behind Backstabbing for Beginners (8:12)
    Director/screenwriter Per Fly talks about the book that inspired the film, the gray area in which the characters reside, the real Oil-for-Food scandal, collaborating with an American screenwriter to find the right balance between drama and thriller, the films he used for inspiration for the political thriller aspects of the movie, the difficulty in casting actors willing to film in Jordan, and the challenges and blessings of the shooting in Morocco.
  • Also From Lionsgate (11:51)
    Trailers for Lady Bird, The Florida Project, The Disaster Artist, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall.

 


Final Thoughts:

My Rating
Film:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Rent It First

From the trailer, Backstabbing For Beginners looked like an exciting international thriller about a whistle-blower caught in a dangerous situation. However, the film never quite reached its full potential for me. I watched the movie through twice and still had a difficult time understanding the situation and all of the parties involved. The film itself looks and sounds great on this Blu-ray release, but the only bonus feature included is a short 8-minute interview with the writer/director. Those who know more about international politics of the late 90’s/early 00’s might enjoy this film more than I did, but I would recommend renting the movie first before making a blind purchase.