The Devil's Double

A film set in Iraq at the end of the 1980s. Latif is a soldier. One day he is summoned to the palace. The offer put to him is not a choice: because he resembles Saddam Hussein's son Uday he will stand in for him, appear in his place at official occasions and take on the risk of assassination. He refuses. When what will happen to his family is pointed out, he accepts. The preparation begins: his teeth are changed, his speech is drilled and he is made to watch recordings of Uday for hours. The character at the centre is Uday. The narrative shows him as thoroughly unstable, given to sudden violence and bound by no limit. Latif has to be beside him every day. Where the narrative goes is the weight the resemblance carries: the man cannot use his own name, cannot see his own family, and the people around him treat him as someone else. Dominic Cooper plays both, and in most scenes the two are together. The source is the life story told by Latif Yahia; parts of that account later became a matter of argument and their accuracy was questioned. Ludivine Sagnier and Raad Rawi are in the cast. Lee Tamahori directed. It was shot in Malta and Jordan. A solid choice for anyone who likes thrillers and narratives of recent history. Before you watch, know this: the film shows violence and sexual violence directly.