Lord of War - 2005

**** Out of ****

Directors who strive to create a biopic that will rival the Godfather’s often have their works turn out one of two ways. Either they succeed in creating a thrilling and fascinating character piece, or the film is boring and features too much back-story and dialogue. Lord of War, written and directed by Andrew Niccol, is fortunately the former; perfectly helmed and paced and supported by a fantastic Nicolas Cage who is at his best here. He plays a similar character as he does in movies such as Matchstick Men; wise cracking but with visible pain and emotion layered with his zest. He is charismatic, and there is no doubt about how his character made it to the top.

Lord of War follows the rise of Yuri Orlov, who works at his family restaurant in Little Odessa. Witnessing the violence that ensues day-to-day between rival crime families, Yuri has an epiphany, and wonders why these gangsters can’t be using weapons he sells them. The film follows his rise from a nobody, scoffed at by the powerful leaders of the world, to his glory, selling to African Dictator Andre Baptiste, (Eammon Walker), who is a standout in this picture, and other militant groups and warring countries around the world. Orlov tries to balance his love for his work and that of his brother and business partner Vitaly (Jared Leto) as well as that of his wife, played by Bridget Monaghan. All this is accomplished while avoiding Interpol agent Jack Valentine. (Ethan Hawk) Interestingly, despite being a good person, and on the righteous side, he is more the villain of the story than Orlov. Cage does such good work, and makes him so likeable and charismatic we want him to succeed despite his trade.

What makes Lord of War stand apart from other crime leader biopics, Nicolas Cages’s performance aside, is that unlike most of its genre we do not grow to hate Orlov, as we did with Tony Monatana in Scarface. We sympathize, even though we shouldn’t. And while the story is still undeniably tragic it makes for a more enjoyable and easier film to watch, due to the fact that he himself is not a murderer. He simply provides the means for murderers to conduct their acts. Orlov is a monster, but he looks at the world as a place of business, and has no illusions of mankind’s nature. If he stops what he is doing, another arms dealer like him will replace him in a second, and Orlov loves his position too much to risk it for anything. Also unlike Scarface or Blow, we do not see a physical or monetary decline in our protagonist. Instead we see a physiological pain and moral conflict arise as he tries to deduce what it is he really loves, and try to protect what he had built. The ending is the hardest to watch, as with all biopics we come to witness the decline of the character we have grown to respect. Yet, as you will see when you watch the film, even this has a different spin then any other movie, and it is these unique touches that make it what it is.

So, while not in the same league as The Godfather movies, it stands alone as an original film about moral conflict and to what degree a job such as his can co-exist with a normal life and family. It is a powerful political style thriller which will give us a reminder of why we live the lives that we do, and how easily everything can fall apart.

© 2008 Simon Brookfield

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