The story of Saddam Hussein's son, the villainous Uday Hussein, should be the highest of high camp as befitted the modern day Caligula, or a deadly serious look at his villainy. "The Devil's Double" is neither.
For one thing, Dominic Cooper, so good in "The History Boys" is OK as Uday but the true devil's double as his body double, there for the more dangerous assignments.As played by Cooper, Latif hangs around looking self-important and disgusted for three quarters of the movie. The problem is, this is remarkably a) boring and b) unbelievable. Uday
Latif is a patriot who agrees to become Uday's double le or le or suffer his entire family being slaughtered. No choice, right. So he joins the game as Hussein's son snorts mountains of coke, rapes brides at their wedding, snatches and murders teenage girls randomly off the streets, rips the insides out of his father's best friends and is a negative lifeforce.
In the end, Latif, soul sick with the circus, slits his wrists, lives thru the suicide and runs away. According to the movie he is now married with children and living in Ireland.
But the Latif character was a drag on the entire movie and I would have preffered to see the entire mess punched up a couple of notchesand be made into a horriffying, camp, extravaganza.
Also, the story doesn't ring remotely true.
If Latif had indeed refused to go back, his entire family, including a teenage sister , mother, aunt -the whole lot, would have been dead immediately. What sort of person risks his family? as evil as Uday was, he didn't kill his brother.
Indeed, Uday died in a gun battle against the US Armed forces with his buddy by his side.
Finally, Uday was evil enough without throwing in incestuous subtexts. the story doesn't need guilding, it stands on its own. It doesn't help to understand evil better to lie about it for effect.
Musically, Frankie Goes To Hollywoods' "Relax" is played at a disco during Uday's birthday. Some pop song played during a sex scene. And an Arabic pop singer performs a tune before Uday kills somebody or the other.
Some of the incidental music has a Middle Eastern flavor.
Movie: C-
Music: B