the 9th life of louis drax is a 2016 canadian-american supernatural thriller film directed by alexandre aja , written by max minghella based on liz jensen 's best-selling novel of the same title , and starring jamie dornan , sarah gadon , aiden longworth , oliver platt , molly parker , julian wadham , jane mcgregor , barbara hershey , and aaron paul .

the film was released in the united states and united kingdom on september 2 , 2016 , by summit premiere and soda pictures .

the 9th life of louis drax

release date . september 2 , 2016 . the story begins on louis drax ' s 9th birthday . the 9th life of louis drax received generally mixed reviews from critics . ten years after anthony minghella optioned liz jensen‘s the 9th life of louis drax to develop . the 9th life of louis drax opens in limited release on . ign is the the 9th life of louis drax resource with reviews . the story begins on louis drax’s 9th birthday . release date : sep 2 , 2016 .
peter drax ( aaron paul , left ) and louis drax ( aiden longworth , right ) in the 9th life of louis drax . photo credit : summit premiere
peter drax ( aaron paul , left ) and louis drax ( aiden longworth , right ) in the 9th life of louis drax . photo credit : summit premiere .
references [ edit ] ^
the 9th life of louis drax ( 1 . british board of film classification .
empire online . retrieved july 1 . the 9th life of louis drax
. rotten tomatoes . retrieved september 2 , 2 . the 9th life of louis drax
. metacritic . retrieved september 2 , 2 .
dr . perez ( oliver platt , left ) and louis drax ( aiden longworth ) in the 9th life of louis drax . photo credit : summit premiere .
molly parker has joined the movie shoot for the 9th life of louis drax , which has started the cameras rolling in vancouver .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the 9th life of louis drax near you .
jamie dornan stars as ' dr . allan pascal ' in the 9th life of louis drax . photo credit : summit premiere .
natalie drax ( sarah gadon ) and dr . allan pascal ( jamie dornan ) in the 9th life of louis drax . photo credit : summit premiere .
cute or sinister ? … sarah gadon , aaron paul and aiden longworth in the 9th life of louis drax . photograph : allstar / lionsgate
deadline . com . retrieved june 2 . white , james ( july 1 . new poster for the 9th life of louis drax
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oliver platt , molly parker , barbara hershey & aiden longworth round out ' the 9th life of louis drax '
. deadline . com . retrieved june 2 . yamato , jen ( september 2 . aaron paul joins ' the 9th life of louis drax
. deadline . com . retrieved june 2 . yamato , jen ( september 2 . sarah gadon joins miramax ' s ' the 9th life of louis drax '
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entertainment one will release the 9th life of louis drax in canada and miramax will distribute throughout the rest of the world . sierra / affinity is the international sales agent for the film .
families can talk about the violence in the 9th life of louis drax . who are the victims ? are there consequences ? what ' s the impact of media violence on kids ?
busch , anita ( june 2 . life of louis drax ' to get theatrical release this fall
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the 9th life of louis drax excels at grabbing you with a steady stream of provocative and ornate images . but to what end , i ' m still not sure .
despite its pretensions , the 9th life of louis drax is not hard to figure out , and no amount of beautifully lit dream imagery makes up for a recycled whodunit .
a dopey psychological thriller that combines elements of
the sixth sense
with an overbearing sentimentality ,
the 9th life of louis drax
flat - lines from beginning to end .
the 9 th life of louis drax is directed by alexandre aja and is based on a screenplay by max minghella .
title the 9th life of louis drax also known as the ninth life of louis drax year 2016 distributor ( s ) soda pictures ltd . classified date ( s ) 14 / 07 / 2016 main language english submitted run time 108m 0s approved footage 9720 + 0 bbfc reference aff341552 registration number cfj40032
the 9th life of louis drax is a fantasy drama about a child psychologist who tries to help a young boy recover after a near fatal accident leaves him in a coma .
reception [ edit ] the 9th life of louis drax received generally mixed reviews from critics . on rotten tomatoes , the film has a rating of 4 . the site ' s critical consensus reads ,
the 9th life of louis drax is intriguing and visually compelling , but its disparate parts are never truly woven into a satisfying whole .
[ 1 . on metacritic , the film holds a score of 4 .
summary the 9th life of louis drax is a fantasy drama about a child psychologist who tries to help a young boy recover after a near fatal accident leaves him in a coma .
check out what he had to say in the video above , and below you’ll find a list of what we talked about . look for more on set interviews from the set of the 9th life of louis drax in the coming days .
the 9th life of louis drax
begins on louis drax ' s 9th birthday , when he miraculously survives a near fatal fall . his doctor allan pascal finds himself tangled between his professional responsibility and his growing affections for the boy ' s mother , a fragile young beauty . when louis ' father comes under suspicion , pascal realizes other mysterious forces may be at work . with echoes of
the sixth sense
and
gone girl ,
the 9th life of louis drax
is a supernatural thriller filled with unexpected twists and turns .
disc # 1 - - the 9th life of louis drax play movie scenes set up audio english 5 . 1 dolby digital subtitles english sdh spanish subtitles : off special features making of featurette also from lionsgate
50 shades of grey
star jamie dornan and
breaking bad
alum aaron paul star in trailer for the thriller
the 9th life of louis drax .
. release thriller on . la 9ème vie de louis drax est un film réalisé par alexandre aja avec aiden longworth , jamie dornan . synopsis : le jour de son neuvième anniversaire , louis drax . read common sense media ' s the 9th life of louis drax review , age rating , and parents guide . theatrical release date : september 2 , 2016 : dvd / streaming release date .
the 9th life of louis drax could not be more appropriately titled , not only because it has gone through many incarnations before its september 2 arrival in theaters but because it seems to contain the ghosts of many films .
the 9th life of louis drax - movie . the story begins on louis drax’s 9th birthday , when he suffers a near - fatal fall . in order to reveal the strange circumstances surrounding the young boy’s accident - dr . allan pascal ( jamie dornan ) is drawn into a thrilling mystery , testing the boundaries of fantasy and reality . release date : sep 2 , 2 . genre : thriller production company .
july 1 . 4 , 2 . 01 . retrieved august 3 . life - of - louis - drax - the ^ yamato , jen ( august 2 . fifty shades of grey ' s jamie dornan to star in miramax ' s ' the 9th life of louis drax , ' alexandre aja directing
. deadline . com . retrieved june 2 . deadline team , the ( october 2 .
in the ninth life of louis drax , author liz jensen imagines two worlds : the world of the mind and the world of external events . her novel challenges the reader to reconcile the one with the other by throwing them into a mystery whose solution seems to elude the closest of readers .
the 9th life of louis drax dvd release date . synopsislouis drax is a boy who has lived through a lot of trauma , seemingly having a magnetic attraction to mishaps . on his ninth birthday , he suffers his first one yet when he takes a terrible fall that lands him in the hospital .
at the beginning of
the untouchables
( 1987 ) , the first warehouse which elliot ness raids belongs to louis drax and co .
the 9th life of louis drax is a movie starring jamie dornan , aiden longworth , and sarah gadon . a psychologist who begins working with a young boy who has suffered a near - fatal fall finds himself drawn into a mystery that tests the boundaries of fantasy and reality .
along the way , liz jensen explores the problems of perception : of the ways in which children perceive the adult world around them , of the ways in which adults perceive the workings of the youthful mind . indeed , quite frequently the process is one of misperception and misinterpretation . in the ninth life of louis drax , jensen engages readers in the delicious task of distinguishing what is and what might be .
there’s plenty afoot in the 9th life of louis drax — medical crisis , family drama , illicit love , surreal visions — all of it sliced and diced through a jumble of tones . by the time director alexandre aja brings together the pieces with an illuminating pang of emotion , most viewers’ confusion will have given way to indifference .
oliver platt , molly parker , barbara hershey and aiden longworth are joining jamie dornan , aaron paul and sarah gadon in the 9th life of louis drax . alexandre aja ( horns ) is directing for miramax , antcolony films and brightlight pictures . principal photography began today in vancouver .
miramax has tapped french director alexandre aja ( horns , the hills have eyes , high tension ) to direct psychological thriller the 9th life of louis drax , with fifty shades of grey star jamie dornan in the lead role . the adaptation of liz jensen’s bestselling novel follows young louis drax , who suffers a near - fatal fall on his ninth birthday . in order to reveal the strange circumstances surrounding the boy’s accident , dr . allan pascal ( dornan ) is drawn into a thrilling mystery , testing the boundaries of fantasy and reality .
“the 9 th life of louis drax” is a twisty , hitchcockian thriller mixed with trippy moments of magical realism . and if that doesn’t sound on paper like it would work , well , it does . and it doesn’t .
the film begins on louis drax’s 9 th birthday when he survives a near fatal fall that unleashes mysterious forces at work .
in the ninth life of louis drax , nine - year - old louis tumbles into a ravine and falls into a coma . his doctor , pascal dannachet , tries to unravel the mystery of his illness , and in so doing becomes close with louis ' mother , natalie . when natalie and pascal kiss , strange things start to happen .
here enters the novel’s second voice : that of dr . dannachet , a controversial specialist in comas , particularly in deciphering what happens in that inner world of the coma victim . dannachet works to understand louis’s condition by studying the fabric of his life . in the process , he also becomes emotionally involved with louis’s mother , who is a mentally fragile and problematic woman . the doctor’s own personal life is not in all that good of shape before louis appears , and matters do not improve after the doctor takes on the job of louis’s care .
the 9th life of louis drax , directed and produced by alexandre aja , is based on the novel by liz jensen about a little boy ( aiden longworth ) who every year suffers through a violent act . after his 9th birthday , he falls off a cliff on a family picnic and ends up in a coma . when a doctor arrives , he starts to unravel the mysteries surrounding louis’ experiences and is drawn into a mysterious web between reality and deception .
the story begins on louis drax ' s 9th birthday , when a lifetime of curious mishaps culminates in the boy ' s near - fatal fall . desperate to reveal the strange circumstances behind the young boy ' s accident and dark coincidences that have plagued his entire life , dr . allan pascal ( dornan ) is drawn into a thrilling mystery that explores the nature of the sixth sense , testing the boundaries of fantasy and reality .
after surviving eight near - death accidents throughout his unlucky life , louis drax plunges off a steep cliff on his ninth birthday . while police investigate the cause of louis ' near - fatal fall and the whereabouts of his violent father peter , acclaimed neurologist dr . allan pascal uses unorthodox techniques to try to tap into the boy ' s unconscious mind and reveal the truth about the events that led to his condition . but as he ' s drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery of louis ' seeming ability to cheat death , the doctor finds himself falling for louis ' mother , natalie . as new clues emerge in the case , a shocking revelation changes the fates of louis drax and everyone around him .
the story begins on louis drax ' s 9th birthday , when he suffers a near - fatal fall . in order to reveal the strange circumstances surrounding the young boy ' s accident - dr . allan pascal ( jamie dornan ) is drawn into a thrilling mystery , testing the boundaries of fantasy and reality .
after surviving eight near - death accidents throughout his unlucky life , louis drax [ aiden longworth ] plunges off a steep cliff on his ninth birthday . while police investigate the cause of louis’ near - fatal fall and the whereabouts of his violent father peter [ aaron paul ] , acclaimed neurologist dr . allan pascal [ jamie dornan ] uses unorthodox techniques to try to tap into the boy’s unconscious mind and reveal the truth about the events that led to his condition . but as he’s drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery of louis’ seeming ability to cheat death , the doctor finds himself falling for louis’ mother , natalie [ sarah gadon ] . as new clues emerge in the case , a shocking revelation changes the fates of louis drax and everyone around him .
platt ( x - men : first class , chef , frost / nixon ) plays louis drax’s psychologist , dr . perez ; molly parker ( house of cards , the road ) is detective dalton ; barbara hershey ( black swan , falling down ) plays violet , louis’ grandmother ; and aiden longworth ( hector and the search for happiness , a christmas story 2 ) takes on the title role of louis drax .
after surviving eight near - death accidents throughout his unlucky life , louis drax ( aiden longworth ) plunges off a steep cliff on his ninth birthday . while police investigate the cause of louis’s near - fatal fall and the whereabouts of his violent father , peter ( aaron paul ) , acclaimed neurologist dr . allan pascal ( jamie dornan ) uses unorthodox techniques to try to tap into the boy’s unconscious mind and reveal the truth about the events that led to his condition . but as he’s drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery of louis’s seeming ability to cheat death , the doctor finds himself falling for louis’s mother , natalie ( sarah gadon ) . as new clues emerge in the case , a shocking revelation changes the fates of louis drax and everyone around him .
the canada - u . k . coproduction from producers antcolony films and brightlight pictures for miramax has also added oliver platt , barbara hershey and aiden longworth in the titular role of louis drax .
“the 9th life of louis drax” goes to some daring and dreamlike places , full of lushly colorful wonder and dark , chilling danger , with patrick watson ’s tinkly score simultaneously suggesting whimsy and menace . either you’ll be willing to go with some of its wilder visual conceits or you won’t . ( i was , for the most part . ) but the emotional truth that grounds the film , particularly in the moments between paul and longworth as father and son , offset aja’s iffy flights of fancy .
after surviving eight near - death accidents throughout his unlucky life , louis drax [ aiden longworth ] plunges off a steep cliff on his ninth birthday . while police investigate the cause of louis ' near - fatal fall and the whereabouts of his violent father peter [ aaron paul ] , acclaimed neurologist dr . allan pascal [ jamie dornan ] uses unorthodox techniques to try to tap into the boy ' s unconscious mind and reveal the truth about the events that led to his condition . but as he ' s drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery of louis ' seeming ability to cheat death , the doctor finds himself falling for louis ' mother , natalie [ sarah gadon ] . as new clues emerge in the case , a shocking revelation changes the fates of louis drax and everyone around him .
after surviving eight near - death accidents throughout his unlucky life , louis drax ( aiden longworth ) plunges off a steep cliff on his ninth birthday . while police investigate the cause of louis ' near - fatal fall and the whereabouts of his violent father peter ( aaron paul ) , acclaimed neurologist dr . allan pascal ( jamie dornan ) uses unorthodox techniques to try to tap into the boy ' s unconscious mind and reveal the truth about the events that led to his condition . but as he ' s drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery of louis ' seeming ability to cheat death , the doctor finds himself falling for louis ' mother , natalie ( sarah gadon ) . as new clues emerge in the case , a shocking revelation changes the fates of louis drax and everyone around him .
doctor dannachet starts sleepwalking . it becomes clear that there is a psychic connection between louis and the doctor and that the doctor , under louis ' direction , has been writing the threatening notes . in the end , it ' s revealed that louis deliberately fell into the ravine .
on louis drax ' s ninth birthday , he takes a terrible fall and is nearly killed . this would be traumatic enough for anyone , but what is especially alarming is that this is only the latest in a long series of dangerous accidents that louis has experienced . psychiatrist dr . pascal is anxious to help louis recover from his shock , but the doctor is in for a shock of his own when he uncovers an increasingly enigmatic mystery involving the circumstances of louis ' s life . will this conscientious doctor be able to determine why these things are happening to louis and prevent them from continuing ?
exclusive : canadian actress sarah gadon has landed the female lead in the 9th life of louis drax , the adaptation of liz jensen’s best selling novel that alexandre aja ( horns ) is directing for miramax . the thriller centers on louis drax , a young boy who suffers a near - fatal fall on his ninth birthday . a psychologist probing into the accident is drawn into a mystery that tests the boundaries of fantasy and reality . gadon has emerged in recent years with striking back - to - back roles in brandon cronenberg’s antiviral and david cronenberg’s cosmopolis , and won the role of louis’ mother natalie in a competitive casting search . she’ll star opposite fifty shades of grey ‘s jamie dornan as dr . allan pascal and breaking bad ‘s aaron paul , who is set to play the boy’s father .
the story in jensen’s novel is told by two separate voices . one voice belongs to a nine - year - old french lad named louis drax , who seems prone to strange but non - lethal accidents . drax is a precociously bright , insightful , and puzzling boy who narrates his inner and outer lives with lively language . drax’s parents are caught in an unraveling marriage , and like many a child , drax fears that he is the cause of that distress . when the family motors out to the french countryside for a picnic meant to celebrate louis’s ninth birthday , the central mystery of the novel ensues : both louis and his father tumble over a cliff’s edge . the father disappears in the river below , while louis survives but lapses into a coma .
the boy louis drax is a survivor along his life , escaping from death for eight times . on his ninth birthday , he goes to a picnic with his beautiful mother natalie and his father peter nearby a cliff . out of the blue , louis falls off the cliff and is declared dead by the doctors . however he awakes immediately before the autopsy and stays in coma under the care of dr . allan pascal . natalie discloses to the police detective dalton that peter , who is missing , pushed louis off the cliff and he becomes the prime suspect of the case . meanwhile dr . pascal , who is married , becomes close to natalie . when weird things happen in the hospital with louis , dr . pascal invites his psychiatrist dr . perez to share his knowledge about the behavior of the boy and they disclose secrets about the drax family .
an intriguingly confusing aspect of aja’s approach is that all of this seems to take place out of time . ted talk notwithstanding , when a cellphone appears , it’s a jolt amid the retro vibe of gadon’s throwback glamour and rachel o’toole’s production design . in the art - directed busyness of many of its interiors , the drax house and the psychiatrist’s office in particular , louis drax achieves what it struggles elsewhere to do : it conveys a sense of churning drama that won’t be contained , and the idea of an unconscious boy’s still - active imagination .
instead , it falls among the seaweed monster , parker ' s hateful cop , and some clumsily foreshadowed psychic powers as one of louis drax ' s mismatched grab - bag of barely examined elements . so much is lost in this film ' s clutter , from any sense of the protagonist ' s humanity to a vision of the story that justifies all the random pieces , or brings them together . louis drax ' s forward motion relies on all its characters being angry and irrational , and rushing to judgment in the least productive ways possible . if that ever seemed like a deliberate , thoughtful choice , it ' d make a strong central theme , exploring how people are blinded by their own assumptions , and how calm and a change of perspective can change the world . but there ' s nothing so consistent or coherent to the 9th life of louis drax . it ' s even more of a mess than its poor mangled , hamster - murdering protagonist .
as the 9th life of louis drax begins , 9 - year - old louis drax ( aiden longworth ) has a near - fatal fall from a cliff that puts him in a coma . louis ' father , peter ( aaron paul ) , who has disappeared , may have been responsible . louis ' distraught mother , natalie ( sarah gadon ) , waits by his bed and consults with the handsome , married dr . pascal ( jamie dornan ) . before long , natalie and the doctor begin to develop feelings for each other . in flashback , a psychologist , dr . perez ( oliver platt ) , speaks to the unusual , accident - prone louis , trying to figure out what makes him tick . meanwhile , the unconscious louis is living in his own dream world , speaking to a strange , seaweed - covered creature . everything points to one thing : what really happened up there on the cliff ?
the 9th life of louis drax is a powerful movie that brought me flashes of room because we have such a strong child main character and reminiscent of patrick ness ' a monster calls at times . it is so beautiful in a subtle dark way that you don ' t really fully grasp until the end . i struggled a bit with the pace because even louis ' voice got tiresome every now and then , but the dreamy atmosphere saturated with a constant sense of suspense and mystery where you just had to know more about this kid and what happened to him kept me hooked . louis is such a smart , perceptive , special kid , with his own voice and sense of self . you can ' t help but let him grow on you . there were some things i did not appreciate , such as the insta - love , but in the end even that made sense , and the twist caught me off guard , although i chided myself for not having thought of it , but the movie is that well done . looking back you see it makes perfect sense but while watching it just doesn ' t come to mind . the 9th life of louis drax is most definitely a unique movie that i highly recommend .
the story begins on louis drax ' s 9th birthday , when a lifetime of curious mishaps culminates in the boy ' s near - fatal fall . dr . allan pascal searches for the strange circumstances behind the young boy ' s accident and dark coincidences that have plagued his life . production [ edit ] in august 2 . jamie dornan joined the cast of the film , with alexandre aja directing from a screenplay by max minghella adapted from the book , who will produce alongside tim bricknell under their antcolony films banner . [ 3 ] in september 2 .
the 9th life of louis drax was adapted by actor max minghella in his screenwriting debut . minghella is also producing alongside tim bricknell ( the no . 1 ladies’ detective agency , breaking and entering ) of antcolony films , shawn williamson ( the interview , 50 / 50 ) of brightlight pictures , and aja . rosanne korenberg ( half nelson , hard candy ) is executive producing . miramax evp zanne devine is overseeing for the studio and sierra / affinity is handling international sales . filming is set to begin next month in vancouver .
sometimes it can be good to think outside the box , but this strange , unsettling mishmash of dark fantasy , disturbing behavior , and child psychology is ultimately more dismaying than refreshing . written by actor max minghella ( based on a novel by liz jensen ) and directed by the usually horror - focused alexandre aja , the 9th life of louis drax moves confidently , as if it seems to know where it ' s going . but as pieces come into place , the picture becomes less and less satisfying .
roger ebert ' s speech on empathy for the
11th hour
series on april 9th , 1994 , being republished here in honor of his birthday june 18 .
disc # 1 - - the 9th life of louis drax 1 . scene 1 2 . scene 2 3 . scene 3 4 . scene 4 5 . scene 5 6 . scene 6 7 . scene 7 8 . scene 8 9 . scene 9 10 . scene 10 11 . scene 11 12 . scene 12 13 . scene 13 14 . scene 14 15 . scene 15 16 . scene 16 17 . scene 17
the bold credits above the line are the
above - the - line
credits , the other the
below - the - line
credits .
like many a film noir sap ( noir being one of the ingredients in aja’s melange ) , pascal’s something of a dullard . but he’s a dullard with no suggestion of an inner life , other than his pained awareness of the strain between him and his wife (
in the end , louis seems to defy the medical logic of comas . at one point , he even lapses into death , but returns to the world of the living in a kind of miraculous physical move . the mystery gradually is solved , but not without certain personal costs being paid by the characters involved .
irish actor dornan last year landed his big break when he was cast as christian grey in universal and focus features’ fifty shades of grey . the erotic lit adaptation hits screens february 13 , 2015 . meanwhile , filming on the 9th life of louis drax is set to begin in october in vancouver . that’ll make for a busy month for aja , whose daniel radcliffe horror - fantasy starrer horns , adapted from the novel by joe hill , hits theaters on halloween . aja also produced gregory levasseur’s horror - thriller the pyramid which fox will open december 5 .
alexander aja brings us a fantastic story line , developed with beautiful and even magical images that we will remember for a long time . filled with all variety of feelings that are interwoven in any given life , dressed up with several truly beautiful and magical images ,
the 9th life of louis drax
is a film that will not let you indifferent . i left the big projection hall , with several reflections about beauty , life , love , destiny , maturity , and caring that will remain with my inner self , most probably serving as platform for many conversations in the future , with friends and family . it is the kind of movie that triggers a reflection , and may help us to think twice in our perceptions . i particularly liked the way the director takes us through a complex story , unfolding it with mastery in the selection of filming planes , settings , time jumps and and pace . i recommend this film , as one of the best of this season !
“the 9th life of louis drax” relies heavily , at least in the introductory scene setting , on voiceover from aiden longworth as the title character . the smart , strange child describes himself in sardonically perky fashion as “the amazing , accident - prone kid” as we witness his litany of near - death experiences . a chandelier fell on him in his crib when he was an infant . there was an unfortunate incident involving a fork and an electrical socket . but the worst of all—the one that may finally do him in—occurred on his ninth birthday as he was enjoying a picnic with his mother , natalie ( sarah gadon ) , and father , peter ( aaron paul ) .
yes , there is a sea monster , which might just be the imaginary friend to whom the comatose louis confesses all his secrets and fears . or he might represent something deeper—the revelation of which provides the film with an unexpected amount of poignancy .
we know life happens , so if something comes up , you can return or exchange your tickets up until the posted showtime .
based on liz jensen’s bestselling novel , the film picks up on louis drax’s 9th birthday , when he miraculously survives a near fatal fall . his doctor allan pascal ( dornan ) finds himself tangled between his professional responsibility and his growing affections for the boy’s mother ( gadon ) . when louis’ father ( paul ) comes under suspicion , pascal realizes other mysterious forces may be at work . tim bricknell and minghella of antcolony films , shawn williamson of brightlight pictures and aja are producing . rosanne korenberg is executive producer .
instead , the thing that sets louis drax’s story apart is louis drax himself : it’s as if the kid is ready to die . he’s already been through the experience often enough , and now , where anyone else his age might be fighting for his life , the only reason he’s sticking around is for our entertainment . ( if he weren’t in a coma , of course , he could tell us easily enough what happened to him . ) still , his unsettling acceptance of his fate suggests a completely different attitude from countless other terminal - kid stories — tearjerkers like “my sister’s keeper” and “the fault in our stars” about young people cursed to die before their time .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
“enjoying” isn’t exactly the right word , though , because as we learn from increasingly informative flashbacks , natalie and peter are in the midst of a tense separation . “the 9th life of louis drax” tries to keep us on our toes through multiple perspectives and unreliable narrators , constantly challenging us to determine what’s real and what’s imagined . one thing that is for sure : louis went over a steep cliff that day and is now lying in a coma . the setting—the craggy hills of marin county , overlooking an eerily cloud - enshrouded san francisco—is one of many elements that call to mind hitchcock’s oeuvre . another is the intriguingly icy presence of gadon , a blonde femme fatale clad in classic party dresses and capri pants . while natalie manages to convince everyone around her that she’s a damsel in distress , there’s clearly much more going on beneath her pristine surface .
adapted by max minghella from a novel by liz jensen , the film tells the story of louis drax , a disaster - prone little boy whose latest accident – the plunging fall from a clifftop during his birthday picnic – leaves him comatose and clinging on to life . his mother natalie ( sarah gadon ) , ethereal in her grief , must also deal with the fact that it was her estranged husband , louis’s stepfather peter ( aaron paul ) , who pushed him . when dishy paediatric coma specialist dr allan pascal ( jamie dornan ) takes a special interest in the case , it’s as much to do with natalie’s exquisite melancholy as it is with louis’s injuries .
this film tells the story of a young boy who falls off a cliff into the sea , and subsequently fall into a coma . his father is missing , and the mother is understandably distraught . a handsome doctor tries to help them all , but things may not appear as they seem .
the 9th life of louis drax
is full of surprises . it starts off like a children ' s film , then becomes romance , then fantasy , then mystery . these elements seamlessly mix into a captivating and engaging story that makes me glued to the screen . it makes me feel differently towards each character at different points of the film , which i think of indicative of how cleverly the story is constructed . the ending is a big surprise , and i would not have guessed it at all . i will be telling my friends about this great film . i really enjoyed it .
louis falls into a coma . when his doctor and his mother kiss , louis sits up , but quickly settles down again . following this incident , strange , threatening notes begin to appear .
is ever - present , like a more benevolent version of the barnacle - encrusted sea monster that lurks on the periphery of this picture .
brightlight pictures will handle distribution of the film in canada and miramax will distribute throughout the rest of the world with sierra / affinity selling international . zanne devine , evp , production and development , is overseeing the project on behalf of miramax .
is the biggest such release , but it isn’t the best . it isn’t bad either , but it’s for kids and not adult fans of animation . as for the best , there are a quartet of contenders for pick of the week ;
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
nine - year - old louis drax has a bad habit of dying . electrocution , spider bites , drowning . one or two spills like that , and you figure he must have one heck of a guardian angel , but when a kid suffers eight such accidents within the span of so many years , it starts to raise questions about his parents — which [ … ]
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the warm scenes with the avuncular platt as a child psychologist seem to point toward something wonderful , while the seaweed monster hints at something frighteningly fantastic . but the movie keeps centering back on the weird , illogical choices of the doctor and the equally unsettling behavior of natalie , who becomes less of a doting mother and more of a femme fatale . finally , the end result , which could have been a sigh , is more of a
huh ?
aja added ,
max ' s script takes us on a very emotional journey through the deep recesses of the mind and on a suspenseful hitchcockian ride . i was drawn to the poignant family drama and the supernatural elements , and am excited to bring this rich and complex story to life .
) . there’s something cartoonish about the way he dons glasses only for driving or reading — seemingly the same pair . ditto the way he segues from a deep hypnotic state to life - saving action in an emergency room .
enjoyable mystery thriller that won ' t keep you on the edge of your seat but that is still interesting to watch . i do like mysteries , it ' s one of my favorite genre of movies , and in the 9th life of louis drax i figured it all out at half of the movie . and other people will probably do as well . that could be a sign that it ' s not interesting to watch because the story is too obvious . but it isn ' t at all . even though i was practically certain what the outcome would be it remains a movie with a high likability to watch . the narrating voice of aiden longworth is pleasant to hear , even though i read that other reviewers didn ' t like it . the kid ' s character would probably not be the cutest boy to live with but in the movie it works perfectly . the rest of the cast are all a great addition to the movie . no bad words about anybody in this movie . it ' s beautifully shot , mesmerizing with the narrating voice , the twist is like i said a bit too obvious but it ' s still working . you have good movies that you will watch once , but this one is just above that and is one i would watch again in the future .
what might be engrossing in liz jensen’s source novel is oddly opaque in this screen mishmash , and much of what’s meant to be tense or suspenseful is merely awkward . the lack of cohesion begins with the jarring shifts in max minghella’s adaptation of the book , one of the optioned projects on the slate of his father , anthony minghella , when the filmmaker died in 2008 . relocating the story from provincial france , the actor - turned - screenwriter interweaves the doctor’s increasingly obsessive behavior with the comatose boy’s thoughts and memories , delivered via voiceover and in fantasy sequences .
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basically the story of a man forced to finally see the injustice around him . riley’s movie is designed to do the same thing to you . …
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and the
miramax
logo are the registered trademarks , trademarks and service marks of miramax , llc .
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and
academy award ®
are the registered trademarks , trademarks and service marks of the academy of motion picture arts and sciences .
after that opening plunge off the cliff , louis ( aiden longworth ) revives in the morgue after being dead for two hours . his resurrection , and the seaweed monster occasionally lurking around his coma ward , both suggest a supernatural angle to the story . when louis ' mother natalie ( sarah gadon ) says he ' s an angel , she certainly seems to mean it literally . but a lurking , leering detective ( house of cards ' molly parker ) thinks louis is just a garden - variety child - abuse victim , especially after natalie ' s estranged husband peter ( aaron paul ) goes missing right after the cliff incident . and dr . allan pascal ( fifty shades of grey co - star jamie dornan ) writes louis ' survival off as an unusual but plausible case of pediatric hypothermia closely resembling death . that still leaves louis in a coma , though , with strange things happening around him .
as the all - business police detective dalton ( molly parker ) leads the investigation into the cause of louis’ fall , she and her team also are searching for peter , the volatile , hard - drinking dad who disappeared that day . but they must delve into the past to get a complete picture—and that’s where famed neurologist dr . allan pascal comes in . a ( mostly ) fully clothed jamie dornan plays pascal with understated intelligence and concern , which eventually give way to some questionable personal choices that cloud his judgment . as he uses unorthodox measures to reach louis , he gets help from the boy’s therapist ( a warmly funny oliver platt ) , whom we see sparring with the impudent louis in flashback . louis is the kind of precocious , hyper - verbal kid you only see in movies ; his darkly amusing observations contrasted with longworth’s sweet demeanor keep the character from being completely insufferable .
dr . allan pascal , a psychologist , becomes determined to discover what is so special about this boy that he ' s had such bad luck . the more deeply he delves into louis ' s psyche , the more startled he becomes as what he finds seems to contradict everything he knows about reality . in cracking the mystery of louis , will he lose his mind ? trailer and release dates .
i made the mistake of reading some reviews and almost didn ' t watch it because of the negativity shown towards the movie . certainly , the key themes are adult in nature and lend a darkness that seems at odds with the perspective of a child ' s narrative , but that helped keep some of the mystery , even though it appeared to give some reviewers a reason to dislike the movie . early in the movie i ' d a pretty good idea how the story would play out and yet the way in which it did was not predictable and kept my interest . i even liked how the
pirates of the caribbean / a monster calls
style was utilised in manifesting some of the plot . to summarise this was certainly worth a watch and not as bad as some of its haters would lead you to believe .
moving away from his extreme - horror roots , aja ( horns , the hills have eyes ) suggests rather than depicts the story’s violence . louis’ disturbing confession about his pet hamsters is a notable example , and is probably the point when any viewers who still care whether he comes out of his coma are likely to stop caring . the film’s fantasy elements aren’t much more helpful . louis engages with a gloppy , shapeless , gruff - voiced monster , a sort of seaweed - covered cousin of groot . it’s a practical effect , involving a latex suit , obtrusive rather than captivating . in a scene that couldn’t be more belabored , louis and the creature tell each other a fable that connects a number of the story’s dots . by contrast , a straightforward father - son exchange between paul and longworth provides the film’s one affecting moment .
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the supernatural thriller is top - lined by the previously announced jamie dornan and aaron paul , and has parker coming on board in the supporting role of detective dalton .
an interview with terry gilliam , director of
the man who killed don quixote .
) of brightlight pictures and aja . the film will be executive produced by rosanne korenberg (
deadline . com . retrieved june 2 . hipes , patrick ( may 2 . miramax ' s ' southside with you ' & ' louis drax ' land uk distribution ; bafta to honor vidgame guru amy hennig – global briefs
. deadline . com . retrieved june 2 .
parents need to know that even though the 9th life of louis drax is about a 9 - year - old boy , it ' s far from family - friendly . this fantasy has some strange , dark material , including images of child abuse and death , a reference to rape , and a young boy suffering a terrible fall ( he goes into a coma afterward ) . there ' s also a seaweed - covered monster that ' s scary until its existence is explained . expect some kissing and a non - graphic sex scene , although in another scene , a woman does remove her top , putting her breast partially in view . a boy also makes references to
sexing
and draws a picture of naked breasts . language is infrequent but does include uses of
f - - k
and
s - - t .
a secondary character is seen drinking whiskey .
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rated r by the motion picture association of america for some disturbing images and brief strong language .
meanwhile , looking as suspicious as possible , aaron paul plays louis’ shifty stepdad , peter drax , whom everyone assumes must have given the kid a push before skipping town himself — conveniently making room for dornan , as a celebrated coma expert named dr . allan pascal ( rechristened from the book’s co - narrator , pascal dannachet , whose more rational analysis goes unvoiced here ) . still , dr . pascal takes a keen interest in louis’ case , and an even keener interest in his mother natalie ( sarah gadon ) .
the bond between louis and his mother , natalie , both friendless , is unusually strong after all the dire emergencies the boy has miraculously survived . sad - eyed and delicate , she hovers around his hospital bed — and around pascal’s office , a femme fatale in the form of a broken - winged angel . while louis’ survival remains in doubt , questions surface over whether the “accident - prone” boy has been harming himself or suffering abuse at his father’s hand . it’s a matter that his former psychiatrist ( oliver platt ) tried gingerly to unravel . flashbacks to their therapy sessions are among the few convincing sequences in the film .
canadian star sarah gadon is in full hitchcock - blonde mode as natalie drax , the mother of a strange , accident - prone boy called louis ( aiden longworth ) . poor louis tumbles from a cliff , after a confrontation with his violent stepfather peter ( aaron paul ) during a family picnic , but miraculously survives in a coma and comes under the care of dr allan pascal ( jamie dornan ) , a specialist in sleepwalking and consciousness while in a vegetative state . creepy stuff starts happening . it’s a bit ridiculous , but hits its own quirky stride – quite similar to soderbergh’s thriller side effects in its way . not a bad rental .
a great might have been that slipped in the stitching together of its disparate parts . still interesting although a confusing mash by the forced ending .
marking his screenwriting debut , max minghella has written the feature screenplay based on liz jensen ' s best - selling novel of the same title .
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aja makes effective use of gadon’s delicate , pristine beauty – she is styled with retro - perfection and lit with an otherworldly glow . and this , combined with the rising tide of sea imagery – from the aquamarine colour palette to the lilting waltz musical motif to the cousteau references – creates a beguilingly off - kilter atmosphere for a mystery that plays out in the damaged subconscious of a child .


the devil 's double is a 2011 belgian-dutch biographical film directed by lee tamahori , written by michael thomas , and starring dominic cooper in the dual role of uday hussein and latif yahia .

it was released on january 22 , 2011 at the 2011 sundance film festival and was released in limited theaters on july 29 , 2011 by lionsgate and herrick entertainment .

the devil ' s double

filmed in malta - the devil ' s double : production designer . . . | facebook
the devil ' s double breaks the record for highest international sales of a film from the benelux . sales agent
dominic cooper in “the devil ' s double , ” about uday hussein and his double , who is forced to serve as his decoy .
if you want to answer the questions ,
who starred in the movie the devil ' s double ?
and
what is the full cast list of the devil ' s double ?
then this page has got you covered .
devil ' s double had very lukewarm critical reception . it has little chance of getting any oscar attention .
- the devil’s double , from once were warriors and die another day director lee tamahori , is released next wednesday .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the devil ' s double near you .
this cast list of who was in the devil ' s double includes both lead and minor roles . ( 15 items )
latif yahia , left , and actor dominic cooper at the british premiere of the devil ' s double . photograph : luke macgregor / reuters
the devil ' s double cast list , listed alphabetically with photos when available . this list of the devil ' s double actors includes any the devil ' s double actresses and all other actors from the film . you can view additional information about each the devil ' s double actor on this list , such as when and where they were born . to find out more about a particular actor or actress , click on their name and you ' ll be taken to page with even more details about their acting career . the cast members of the devil ' s double have been in many other movies , so use this list as a starting point to find actors or actresses that you may not be familiar with .
“the devil’s double” is rated r ( under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian ) . sex , violence , sexual violence , drug use .
i ' m not sure what it all adds up to , but the devil ' s double puts its hooks in you and keeps them there .
the hero of
the devil ' s double
may get upstaged by the villain , but that ' s not exactly bad news for star dominic cooper , since he plays both parts .
clones of the late 1960s , the devil ' s agent holds up pretty well when seen today .
the devil ' s double is a movie starring dominic cooper , ludivine sagnier , and raad rawi . a chilling vision of the house of saddam hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of hussein ' s sadistic son .
while the makers of iraq war movie the hurt locker bask in the oscars glory , a very different movie on iraq - the devil ' s double - is currently being shot in malta .
the devil ' s double is a fantastic film that features a central performance so compelling , you ' d be foolish to look away even for a second .
“the devil’s double , ” however , doesn’t have the competence to make its history - as - thriller dynamic click . riddled with grade - z exploitation and made - for - tv amateurishness , the movie presumably uses shocking imagery to underscore the dark mind behind it . but when uday literally spills the guts of his father’s friend across a dinner table , “the devil’s double” abandons credibility in favor of plain silliness .
tamahori’s filmography , which also includes “xxx : state of the union , ” suggests he’s the wrong fit for the material . david o . russell’s “three kings” successfully brought an american genre to iraq without simplifying the setting . “the devil’s double , ” on the other hand , confirms the crude , one - dimensional character types that still dominate the western imagination .
the film tells the real - life story of the man forced to be the body double of saddam hussein ' s sadistic son uday in pre - war baghdad .
this weekend sees the uk release of the devil’s double , a $ 20m action blockbuster set in the “lawless playground of excess and violence known as baghdad , 1987” . the film is purportedly based on the true story of latif yahia ( dominic cooper ) , an iraqi army captain forced to work as a body double for the eldest son of saddam hussein , uday .
his disturbing story is told in new movie the devil’s double , starring english actor dominic cooper – but sitting across from me in a london hotel , he tells me the full story would be far too horrific to commit to film .
the devil ' s double trailer release date : july 29th , 2011 genres : action , biography , drama director : lee tamahori writers : michael thomas , latif yahia stars : dominic cooper , ludivine sagnier and raad rawi plot : a chilling vision of the house of saddam hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of hussein ' s sadistic son .
the poster for the devil ' s double , a thriller about saddam hussein ' s son uday , is a vision of excess in babylon . dominic cooper slouches on a gilded throne looking every inch the playboy , all chest hair and dark shades , two machine guns spewing cartridges over his head .
the life story of latif yahia , body double to saddam hussein’s diabolically unhinged son uday , makes for slick action - movie fodder in “the devil’s double , ” a rocket - powered thriller rife with scenery chewing and fast - and - loose revisionism that could , by dint of sheer sensationalism , break the iraq movie curse and rack up some serious b . o . around the world . [ … ]
x - factor : mike myers’s cameo as donnie schulzhoffer as an homage to don cherry’s coach’s corner .
round one , match two : h - e double hockey sticks vs . mystery , alaska
lee tamahori ' s
the devil ' s double
is based on the experiences of latif yahia , who was groomed as uday ' s double . in this role , he survived no less than a dozen assassination attempts . the movie portrays him as an iraqi soldier forced to take the job after beatings and threats to his family ; he is seen throughout as a respectable figure with contempt for uday and a good deal of courage in standing up to him .
caesar’s report was published in the sunday times on 23 january . at the very least , it should have raised serious doubts over whether any of the events depicted in the devil’s double actually happened . yet with the film about to open at the box office , yahia is being rolled out once again for another round of interviews , and the british press are once again lapping up this “true story” .
since uday’s death alongside brother qusay during the united states’ 2003 invasion of iraq , stories of uday’s antics took on a global dimension . the 2010 publication of yahia’s memoir ( also titled “the devil’s double” ) went to great lengths to flesh out uday’s villainy while attributing his behavior to a delusional power trip . however , tamahori’s adaptation reduces uday into a cartoonish monster who wouldn’t be out of place in a james bond movie . ( tamahori directed one of the weaker bond installments , “die another day . ” )
ba : that’s interesting because we left the order of the tracks right to the last minute .
based on a gripping , unbelievable true story of money , power and opulent decadence , lionsgate’s the devil’s double takes a white - knuckle ride deep into the lawless playground of excess and violence known as baghdad , 1987 . summoned from the frontline to saddam hussein ' s palace , iraqi army lieutenant latif yahia ( dominic cooper ) is thrust into the highest echelons of the
royal family
when he’s ordered to become the ‘fiday’ – or body double – to saddam ' s son , the notorious
black prince
uday hussein ( also dominic cooper ) , a reckless , sadistic party - boy with a rabid hunger for sex and brutality .
yahia’s brief piece for newsweek , published last week , does a much better job of encapsulating the experience of being subservient to a mad man . he closes by discussing the missed chance for justice that came with uday’s abrupt death . “the devil’s double” has no such subtlety . it works as a period piece in only the most abstract sense , reflecting a time when sadaam hussein’s regime still signified enemy number one . appropriately , it plays like a clueless nightmare .
there were times early in
the devil ' s double
that i felt it was preparing to approach greatness . the materials are all assembled . and then it never really engages with them . there can be no
explanation
for uday ' s madness . but latif ' s character is explored primarily for the plot ' s convenience , and obvious questions are sidestepped . it ' s a terrific show . all due praise to dominic cooper . it should have been more .
its the time of year when the nominees for the oscar ' s start to gossip round the media . who do you think deserves an oscar ? plenty of good films / actors / actresses etc this year but the ones that stand out for me so far are best actor - dominic cooper the devils double or tom hardy warrior supporting actor - nick nolte warrior movie - the devils double
my quarrel here is not with the producers of the devil’s double . their job is to produce an entertaining film that people will enjoy and , by all accounts , they have succeeded . my gripe is with the media , who have a duty to report the truth as best they can , but in this instance have failed abjectly to do so .
word on the street is nintendo published a very low number of copies of devil’s third at retail . if this is true , this is a serious disservice made to their own fans .
the life story of latif yahia , body double to saddam hussein ’s diabolically unhinged son uday , makes for slick action - movie fodder in “the devil’s double , ” a rocket - powered thriller rife with scenery chewing and fast - and - loose revisionism that could , by dint of sheer sensationalism , break the iraq movie curse and rack up some serious b . o . around the world . more “scarface” than “house of saddam , ” director lee tamahori ’s gangster - style treatment veritably blisters with tension as reluctant decoy latif comes to fill the void of uday’s nonexistent conscience , playing front - row witness to the tyrant’s insatiable cruelty . biggest setback stateside could be the ratings board .
it’s hard to believe that “the devil’s double” doesn’t intend to be a put - on . despite a real - life basis of its plot , lee tamahori’s fierce depiction of hedonistic saddaam hussein spawn uday hussein relegates the character to a farcical cartoon . looking like a macabre groucho marx , dominic cooper portrays uday as a leering , cigar - puffing womanizer who alternates between scowling and grating hyena guffaws .
latif , a quiet man with a troubled conscience , serves as our guide and moral protector during this behind - the - scenes tour of hell . ( the real latif yahia is the author of the book on which “the devil’s double” is based , classified as a novel but incorporating his actual experiences . ) his disapproval of uday’s behavior reminds us that we are also appalled — and not only titillated — by all the violence and debauchery .
were you looking for a retail copy of devil’s third ? did you manage to get a copy , or did you decide to go digital ? share your thoughts with us in the comments .
the film’s evocations of the traditions of “scarface” and “the sopranos” are neither accidental nor inappropriate . the husseins did resemble a classic hollywood crime family — or at least that is how they appear in the 1980s and ’90s , when the movie takes place . saddam ( philip quast ) is a grumpy , remote patriarch preoccupied with the daily business of tyranny . his ruthlessness at least appears to have some purpose . but the demon in “the devil’s double” is his son uday ( dominic cooper ) , whose waywardness is both the result of his father’s absolute power and a source of irritation to the old man .
this $ 20m film is based on latif yahia ' s claim to have been a body double for uday hussein . but his story doesn ' t add up
ba : i think the whole album is soaked in tjinder’s sensibilities , especially in the production on the drums and bass and how the instrumentation is worked out . that’s a massive element to the record .
his virtuosity is not quite enough to lift “the devil’s double” above its self - imposed limitations . the movie is provocative but rarely thought - provoking , and it stops short of any startling psychological or political insight . but it has its hands on an astonishing story , a tale of horrifying excess that it tells with invigorating and perhaps unseemly enthusiasm .
evil exists . there are people on this planet who live without moral compass or boundaries , men who feed on hate and terror . for years uday hussein , son of dictator saddamn hussein , wreaked his own personal brand of horror on the people of iraq and now director lee tamahori has brought that malevolence to a personal level with the devil’s double .
the double o groove is instantly recongisable as a cornershop album as are all of your albums , but this one’s a bit different as it doesn’t have the immediacy of tjinder’s voice on it . can you break down for me , who does what on this ?
many of the problems with “the devil’s double” stem from the nature of its narrative . clearly produced for an english - speaking audience , the movie adopts an illogical method in which characters speak english with vaguely defined “foreign” accents . that unfortunate decision only enhances a synthetic quality that dominates each scene . cooper’s dual role is an equally transparent gimmick : the men look , unsurprisingly , like twins . the contrast provides a constant reminder that cooper works better with soft - spoken characters and not poorly scripted “snl” characterizations .
his acts sickened even his murderous father saddam and , for five years , latif yahia was his “fiday” – his double , catching bullets meant for iraq’s most despised man .
a once - in - a - lifetime opportunity for character actor dominic cooper ( usually relegated to dreamy supporting parts ) , “double” allows the brit thesp to tackle two juicy , red - meat roles , playing opposite ends of the moral spectrum as both latif and uday — often in the same shot . in fact , “double’s” seamless split - screen work makes “the social network’s” high - tech twinning effects look as old - fashioned as friendster .
raised in a wealthy household in baghdad , latif yhia had saddam hussein ' s eldest son uday as a classmate . their resemblance was remarked upon . years later latif was summoned to hussein ' s palace and ordered to be sadistic uday ' s body double . when he refused , he was imprisoned and tortured . when his family was also threated , he decided to cooperate . after extensive training , latif became uday ' s double in 1987 .
destructoid reports that gamestop only has 420 copies of devil’s third available for sale via their online store . while this does not represent all retailers , it does imply nintendo didn’t plan to ship many copies of the game at all .
on the surface , latif yahia’s is a compelling tale . while on active service during the iran - iraq war , he was summoned to baghdad to serve as uday’s “fidi” ( or body double ) . when he refused , he was tortured and forced to undergo cosmetic surgery , so that he might more closely resemble saddam’s psychotic son .
cooper takes on a second role as well , playing the innocent latif yahia , uday’s lookalike who was forced against his will into becoming uday’s body double . as yahia , cooper delivers a vastly superior performance , wearing the dazed expression of a good man trapped in pure evil . he’s also a good actor trapped in a bad movie .
drama . latif yahia , army lieutenant and former school companion of saddam hussein ' s sadistic son uday hussein , is violently coerced into becoming uday ' s body double and is reluctantly drawn into a terrifying world of excess and brutality .
the devil’s double is being screened in cinemas across the united states , canada , united kingdom , russia , belgium , the netherlands and surinam . soon release will follow in japan , turkey , eastern europe , middle east , australia , new sealand , scandinavia , thailand , south korea , spain , portugal , india , south - afrika , indonesia , iceland and latin america . under negotiation are france , italy and germany .
as people across the arab world struggle to shake off the burdens of dictatorship , the release of “the devil’s double , ” a slick english - language excursion into saddam hussein’s iraq , might seem either timely or insensitive . shot in lurid , gilded tones ; pulsing with pop decadence , the film is less an anatomy of authoritarian politics than a gangster movie . mercedes - benz sedans hurtle through the streets ; men in dark suits and sunglasses share the screen with women in lingerie ; guns are drawn and fired ; and life is either a nonstop war or an endless party , or both .
many of latif’s bodyguards died in the assassination attempts on him around the country by angry husbands or brothers .
represents the closure and pinnacle of a neorealist strand within what’s now described as the l . a . rebellion . chronicling the devastating effects of underemployment on a family in the same los angeles community depicted in charles burnett’s
ba : it’s in the can . we just don’t see that there’s any point in rushing with it . the longer amount of time that passes the more historically interesting it will become .
ba : i do think it’s there as a subconscious thing though . even on the ‘days of ford cortina’ it’s alluding to the past as a good thing .
the late gerry ryan wasn’t alone . ed bradley of cbs , david frost of al - jazeera and john simpson of the bbc all interviewed yahia and all took him at his word . this was remarkable . because from outset , there were holes in his story so wide they might have been visible from outer space . i am not an investigative reporter . all it took for me to realise that there were question marks over yahia’s credibility was actually bothering to read his books : the devil’s double and the black hole .
it ' s kind of a slow week on the home market in two ways . firstly , the only major release of the week is
the screenplay , written by michael thomas , is based on latif yahia’s biographical novel .
but the power that came with being saddam’s son allowed the young uday to become untouchable , even among his terrified teachers at the segregated school .
the world , the flesh and the devil ’s mixed critical reception may be attributed in part to its racial - political angle . its post - nuclear survivor tale entertains the possibility of interracial love and sex , and harry belafonte , in the starring role , takes up arms against white aggressors . it was one of two films released in 1959 by belafonte’s harbel productions ( the first black - owned and “branded” hollywood production company ) , a few years after he became the thirteenth african american to appear on the cover of time magazine .
basically the story of a man forced to finally see the injustice around him . riley’s movie is designed to do the same thing to you . …
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more recently , yahia has been investigated by the british journalist ed caesar . in nine months , caesar failed to uncover a single piece of evidence to support yahia’s claims to have worked as a body double for uday . among many other , he spoke to haytham ajmaya , a former member of uday’s inner circle , and raad al - sheikh , a private guard at saddam’s presidential palace during the period in question . both men categorically denied that yahia had ever worked as a body double for uday , or indeed that uday had even used body doubles .
“double” panders to the basest tendencies in the makeover sequence that follows , depicting latif’s transformation with the same sordid approach seen in many an episode of “nip / tuck . ” uday watches with mad - scientist zeal as latif is stripped down , sized up and reshaped through plastic surgery to reflect his new boss .
the movie is above all entertaining , if you enjoy human grotesquerie and flamboyant acting . let ' s face it : many of us do . there ' s a reason hannibal lecter remains the most popular villain in the movies . dominic cooper is inevitably more effective as uday than as latif , his disapproving double . after we get a few tastes of uday , we can almost feel the energy level sagging during latif ' s scenes . nor does the role of sarrab ( ludivine sagnier ) hold up very well . what ' s her real story ? why would she , knowing what she knows , take the reckless risk of becoming latif ' s lover ? the movie never persuades us that it understands her .
nudges daniel craig ' s rebooted bond closer to the glorious , action - driven spectacle of earlier entries , although it ' s admittedly reliant on established 007 formula .
otto preminger’s daring musical is based on oscar hammerstein’s broadway version of bizet’s famed opera , here set in the american south during wartime and featuring an all black cast . the pleasure - seeking femme fatale who seduces harry belafonte’s g . i . joe is played by dorothy dandridge , whose defiant performance earned her the first best actress oscar nomination for a person of color .
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lee tamahori ' s new film portrays saddam as a mafia don struggling to maintain order and discipline in iraq . but he ' s worried that he might have handed america ' s neocons a propaganda gift
spectre is sloppier than other recent bonds , but it also feels like it ' s exhausted the idea that fueled the franchise ' s relaunch - - darker and more realistic can only last so long when it ' s paired with a rotating cast of bond girls and supervillains .
oscar micheaux’s within our gates may be the legendary director’s most provocative film . made in response to the racism portrayed in griffith’s the birth of a nation , it contains sequences deemed so incendiary that the film was repeatedly cut by censors ; in 1992 the library of congress restored the film as close to the original as possible . the melodrama follows sylvia , a young southern teacher who travels to boston to seek funding for her school . an extended flashback near the end of the film “refutes the claims of white popular culture with regard to ‘black’ reconstruction” ( michele wallace ) , ” showing us how sylvia’s life was shaped by racial prejudice , lynching , and miscegenation . preservation print courtesy of the library of congress .
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rapes , killings and tortures were all in a day’s work for uday hussein , one of the most sadistic monsters the world has ever seen .
while devil’s third has received poor critical reception , nintendo may have done fans a disservice if they really did a low print run for the game . good or bad , there were players who still wanted the game for their collection . digital , of course , remains an option , but even then , there will be fans who want the game enough that they will deal with scalpers , and these are the gamers nintendo have done a disservice too .
latif then moved into an opulent palace where everything was laid on for him , and the long training process began to turn him into the perfect replica of the butcher of baghdad’s son .
uday hussein , the eldest son of iraq ' s saddam hussein , was a vile and deranged man , whose depravities were given full rein with unlimited power and money . it was a demanding job to be the double of a man so many sincerely wanted to see dead ; even saddam reportedly told uday ,
i should have killed you the day you were born .
the film shows a crass , party - boy interest in uday’s attitude and lifestyle , ranging from an unnecessarily explicit series of torture videos ( including a power drill to the ear sure to inflame the mpaa ) to uncomfortable scenes of kidnap , rape and murder . “it’s all worse than we could possibly portray , ” tamahori said by way of defense at pic’s sundance premiere , though one wonders whether auds really needed to have their faces rubbed in such vile behavior . “double” further emasculates uday by injecting suggestions of homosexuality and incest .
the film is directed by lee tamahori ludivine sagnier will play sarrab , uday’s concubine and secret lover to latif .
latif and uday’s paths first crossed when they were teenagers in the same class at school , the best in baghdad . saddam had just become president and latif’s millionaire businessman father warned his son to steer clear of his powerful classmate .
tamahori appears relatively sympathetic towards saddam : in the film he appears desperate to maintain discipline in a country on the brink of foreign invasion , with a son whom he wishes had never been born .
we have left saddam hussein as a don corleone , or a mafia don trying to keep things in check .
he says .
it was saddam who built the country universities , road and free education . that seemed to be the devil ' s pact that he signed with the people .
three years after robert drew’s breakthrough documentary following jfk through the wisconsin presidential primary , the president , recognizing the historical significance of the direct cinema approach , permitted drew to film during a period of crisis : the showdown between alabama governor george wallace and the federal government over the integration of the university of alabama . drew had teams at the oval office , the justice department and the university , capturing the human details of a drama deeply affecting the country , the civil rights movement and the presidency . preserved by the academy film archive . playing with perfect film ( ken jacobs , 1986 , 22 min . 16mm ) , a radical gesture in found footage composed of an unedited reel of interviews with eyewitnesses to the assassination of malcolm x .
in this columbia pictures remake of frank capra’s submarine ( 1928 ) , 20s and 30s hollywood star dolores del río plays a mexican dancer who weds one officer and seduces another . while the mexican actress was widely considered one of hollywood’s most beautiful faces , her racial difference influenced casting and critical reception . for devil’s playground , her 24th film and a commercial flop , her predatory role–a manifestation of negative stereotypes–led one reviewer to remark that her part “exactly fits her talents and her looks . she is uncomfortably real . ”
looking on with disapproval , latif remains upstanding through it all , and though it’s easy to feel manipulated by the polar differences between cooper’s two characters , that dichotomy makes for great drama . watching the swift , svelte energy with which tamahori hurls us forward , it’s easy to see the qualities that earned him the gig directing “die another day , ” especially in the music choices , which favor electronic and rock over the typical regional sounds used to situate middle eastern fare .
if one of the most successful and long - running franchises in movie history wants to keep pumping , it ' s once again time to change the formula .
at some point during the first few months of this website in 2008 i commissioned an article under the working title of are cornershop the greatest cult band of the last 20 years ? it got lost in the upheaval caused by the youthful separation from our parent company . ( that and the much mourned billy holiday - a bank holiday’s worth of content featuring pieces on only billy childish , billy bragg , billy idol and billie piper . ) on listening to their two releases since then ; judy sucks a lemon for breakfast in 2009 and this year’s cornershop and the double - ‘o’ groove of , however , it was obviously even more of a missed opportunity because that title feels less like challops and more like the stone cold truth .
we track hollywood ' s upcoming movie releases through all stages of production . more
racist bigotry in the deep south is the subject of elia kazan’s vanguard interracial romance . fearing a southern boycott , the film’s producer cast a caucasian actress as pinky , a pale - skinned african american “passing” as white in boston who returns to the south to visit her mother and is confronted by her black identity in a racist society . the court of marshall , texas found an exhibitor guilty of presenting a film that was “of such a character as to be prejudicial to the best interests of the people of said city . ” the case eventually led to a u . s . supreme court victory for the film .
but while serving in the army in 1983 during the iran - iraq war , he received an order summoning him to uday’s palace and was given a terrible choice .
an iraqi soldier is forced to become a double for saddam hussein ' s sadistic son uday to distract assassins . his new role plunges him into a world of depravity , as he becomes a first - hand witness to the acts of murder and violence uday routinely indulges in . drama , starring dominic cooper , ludivine sagnier and philip quast .
dominic cooper recently completed stephen frear’s tamara drewe in which he holds the lead role opposite gemma arterton . in 2009 he starred in the acclaimed hit film an education , which received three academy award nominations including best motion picture . his additional film credits include last year’s international blockbuster , mamma mia ! , the duchess and the history boys .
talking of which - i read something in the guardian recently that made me very angry . the writer howard jacobson was talking about how he was down on his luck and doing this job that was so beneath him - i . e . he was a polytechnic lecturer in wolverhampton . now not that i feel wolverhampton needs defending by me - in fact in some ways it’s relatively indefensible - but just the sheer snide insinuation that this was pretty much as bad as it got for someone like him . now i know you’ve had some harsh things to say about the city before now but do you ever feel the need to argue devil’s advocate for the place , to defend its honour ?
even more tasteless than its main character ' s gold ' n ' marble palace .
well that ' s brothers for you ; they always know which buttons to press .
graduating from this sick course , latif was given access to all life’s luxuries . but he would be sent out to perform uday’s civic duties , everything from inspecting troops to handing out medals to the iraqi football team .
uday , a pathetic and dangerous weakling beneath his playboy strut , presents an interesting case study in the psychopathology of unchecked privilege . a rapist , cokehead and sadist , sentimentally attached to his mother and brutally contemptuous of all other women , uday is a walking cartoon of degeneracy . puffing on big cigars , brandishing rolex watches and oversize pistols , he looks like a teenager acting out fantasies gleaned from hip - hop videos . and as the film moves through his world of blood and sex and curdled machismo , “the devil’s double” inhales some of his toxic , shallow energy . at times you feel as if you were stuck in grand theft auto : baghdad city , which , while entertaining enough , can also become a bit wearying .
mystery , alaska : a hockey - crazed small town in alaska centers on the weekly “saturday game” of pond hockey . after a feature in sports illustrated , the nhl suggests an exhibition game between the new york rangers and the town’s players . sheriff john biebe ( russell crowe ) , who had recently been kicked off of the saturday game to make room for a younger , talented skater is asked to coach the team amid increasing signs that the game is taking on greater significance than a simple exhibition . multiple townspeople’s lives are drawn into the events of the game , and eventually biebe must step onto the ice as a player .
his film depicts 1980s baghdad as a city of sin , run for the debauched entertainment of a seedy elite . at its centre is uday , the elder son of the ruling dictator , who was assassinated by us special forces in 2003 . he is played by cooper ( who made his name in the history boys ) as a vainglorious , self - obsessed monster . cooper also plays latif yahia , the man supposedly hired as a body double for uday .
as a result of those ambiguities , it is interesting to wonder about the film ' s purpose . it is not intended as history . although it draws applause at the news as the end credits roll that uday was killed in 2003 by u . s . special forces , it is not particularly unfavorable in its portrayal of papa hussein . he makes a few brief appearances in what functions as the movie ' s token of ( relative ) sanity .
then the next stage of training – far more monstrous – began . to understand the president’s son , and to desensitise him to what was to come , he had to watch videos of tortures and rapes committed by uday and his friends . the barbarous acts , coupled with uday’s glee at committing them , sickened latif .
the movie ( directed by lee tamahori from a script by michael thomas ) filters its own prurient fascination with uday through the perspective of another , less loathsome character . this is latif yahia , also played by mr . cooper , a veteran of the iran - iraq war who is plucked from obscurity and offered the role of uday’s double . it is not an offer he can refuse — the interview process includes beatings and threats to his family — and the responsibilities are not always pleasant . he has good clothes , plentiful liquor and access to whatever women uday doesn’t want , but he has to serve as a decoy for assassins , a celebrity impersonator and , worst of all , uday’s official best buddy .
h - e double hockey sticks : apprentice demon griffelkin ( will friedle ) is instructed by ms . beelzebub ( rhea perlman ) to steal the soul of super talented hockey player dave heinrich ( matthew lawrence ) . griffelkin and heinrich reach an agreement in which heinrich’s soul is forfeit if the delaware devils win the stanley cup , but griffelkin , in an act of rebellion against mean - spirited ms . beelzebub , has dave traded to the annapolis angels , the worst team in the league . heinrich has to learn to play with a new , less talented team and griffelkin tries to find a way to side with good .
this movie is not quite based on fact . tamahori and writer michael thomas make it clear they ' ve fictionalized a great deal , and although they cite latif yahia ' s own book as their source , that itself is a novel . in life , i learn , latif was groomed as uday ' s double as early as his school days . nor did he plot uday ' s death . his story raises the question of whether his real life role was quite as upstanding as it seems here ; he would have much reason to portray himself in a favorable light .
are opening in saturation level theater counts . it is likely the latter will be the biggest of the three new releases ( although it will likely have to settle for second place ) and it is the target film in this week ' s contest . in order to win , one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for
uday’s proposal is simple : he needs a “fiday” ( a lookalike who can stand in for him in public ) , and latif can either accept the job or see his family executed for his insubordination . even when faced with this impossible choice , latif resists . did he really have such reservations ? though the film was inspired by yahia’s true experiences , thomas and tamahori treat “double” as a dramatic retelling untethered to reality . for the sake of a good yarn , they prefer to think of latif as a righteous soul , forced to “extinguish” himself ( as he puts it ) and mirror this monster feared by the iraqi people .
ba : it was a very long , drawn out process , so it’s probably been the longest album from start to finish that we’ve done .
tied on an estimated $ 36 , 206 , 250 . that ' s a slight disappointment for
a cryptic message from bond ' s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation . while m battles political forces to keep the secret service alive , bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind spectre .
although a glimpse into the decadence of the hussein regime this bears the serious flaw of being one note . and yes , that note is loud .
baghdad , the playground for the rich and infamous , where anything can be bought - but for a price . this is uday hussein ' s world and with his depraved lust for debauchery and immorality , he helps himself to whatever turns him on . when army lieutenant latif yahia is summoned to saddam ' s palace , he is faced with an impossible request - to be uday ' s ' fiday ' - his body double , or have his family condemned to death . in a world entrenched in betrayal and corruption , knowing who to trust becomes a matter of life or death for latif , as he battles to escape from his forced existence .
whatever historians make of it , tamahori ' s film is one of the most gripping attempts to address the first gulf war , helped by a stand - out performance from cooper , who convincingly weaves between the two main roles of uday and yahia .
one of the most eagerly awaited dutch films of 2018 is redbad , the histo . . . -
this article is issued from wikipedia - version of the 11 / 29 / 2016 . the text is available under the creative commons attribution / share alike but additional terms may apply for the media files .
hbo ' s new series sharp objects premieres july 8 and follows amy adams as camille . . .
his tales of life as uday’s body double seemed , to put it mildly , far - fetched . but those were only the beginning . since fleeing iraq , he claimed to have taken an austrian policeman hostage at gunpoint , punched a judge , doused a refugee camp in petrol , enjoyed a love affair with a saudi arabian princess ( who was later beheaded ) , become a north sea ship’s captain and masterminded a diamond smuggling business out of amsterdam . each of these claims was as sensational as it was unverifiable .
in an episode dedicated to the show within the show , “glow” illustrates its grand capacity for storytelling , and the very good tv podcast breaks down how .
tamahori may have reason to believe he has gifted the state department a slice of prime propaganda . but his film is limited to the events before the first gulf war , and makes no reference to the war of 2003 . we can look forward to that in the sequel . the script practically writes itself .
ba : talking of j . b . s in dudley , you were one of a handful of people to see the stone roses play live there .
ba : he asked us to do a lonnie donnegan song and ' houston hash ' wasn’t written by him but it was taken to the top of the charts by him . it’s also one that we quite like . and we liked the history of it ; it was a huge hit in the states , possibly the first country hit there . that ep is definitely a nod to the support we’ve had from america .
x - factor : jack black plays augie , the high school team’s goaltender . if there is an actor better suited to capturing the unique and often strange persona of a goalie , i’d love to meet him .
later , he campaigned unsuccessfully for irish citizenship , becoming an outspoken critic of ireland’s then minister for justice , michael mcdowell . in 2007 , he was the subject of a fawning episode of rte’s ryan confidential programme . at the time , i emailed series producer david blake knox to ask if programme makers had attempted to independently verify the truth of any of yahia’s claims . he replied : “our goal in this interview is to allow our viewers the opportunity to form their own opinions about his credibility . ” i took that as a no .
airborne : mitchell goosen ( shane mcdermott ) is dropped off in cincinnati , ohio to live with his aunt , uncle , and cousin wiley ( seth green ) by his parents as they depart for a six month zoological study . an avid surfer and inline skater , goosen soon attracts the negative attention of high school hockey team . eventually goosen wins over their begrudging respect after finding a non - violent but embarrassing way to respond to one of the rival “prep” players during an inline hockey game . both teams agree to settle their differences with a race down a set of streets named “the devil’s backbone” .
it was only after their wedding that she heard about his claim to have worked as uday’s body double , a claim she says she always found dubious . cunningham took out a barring order against yahia in 2000 and still lives in fear of him today . “it has been very hard for me over the years to see newspapers , tv and radio fawning over him , ” she told me . “nobody ever thought to investigate his claims . ”
within its opening minutes , michael thomas’ script lays everything out , cutting from a montage of real - world atrocity ( front - line footage depicting corpses and other casualties of war ) to an attack in which iraq army lt . latif narrowly escapes with his life . called to baghdad by former classmate uday , the decorated officer comes face - to - face with uday’s favorite mistresses , sarrab ( alluring french actress ludivine sagnier ) , and judging by the look she throws latif , we know exactly where “double” is headed before uday even enters the room .
in 1994 , lee tamahori surprised the world with once were warriors . he quickly became one of the most acclaimed directors of his generation with classics like mullholland falls , the edge , along came a spider , the bond box office hit die another day with pierce brosnan and halle berry and xxx2 : the state of the union .
roger ebert ' s speech on empathy for the
11th hour
series on april 9th , 1994 , being republished here in honor of his birthday june 18 .
today marks round one of the hockey wilderness best hockey film tournament . we’ve got 12 competitors for the title .
the action is atrocious , and after the brass - balled sequences of rogue nation , spectre feels especially flat .
in spencer williams’ adaptation of the w . somerset maugham short story “miss thompson , ” nightclub performer gertie la rue ( everett ) escapes to a caribbean resort after two - timing her harlem boyfriend . ready to entertain the tourists and g . i . s stationed nearby , gertie must first face the demons of her past , as well as an intolerant reformer who condemns gertie’s sultry moves .
aubrey o ' day ' s tweets pretty much prove her
djt
lover is indeed donald trump jr .
this is an over - the - top gangster flick that starts with the volume turned up to 11 and stays that way . it ' s never boring , but revels in the bad behaviour it pretends to condemn , and is too much on one note to be much good .
i was reading the new simon reynolds book retromania this morning and he explains the etymology behind the word nostalgia . in the late 17th century the swiss medical student johannes hofer coined the term “nostalgie” to refer to the extreme form of home sickness suffered by some of his countrymen on long tours of national in service in the lowlands of france and italy . this longing to get home led in some extreme cases to anorexia or even suicide . when the british borrowed the term in the 1920s to become ‘nostalgia’ , the thing causing the sickness switched from being distance to time . i’ve always felt that there was a fundamental yearning to the music of cornershop - not in a i < 3 1974 way - but in a very fundamental yearning for a past that is unobtainable , forever just out of reach .
the main point of the film , he says , is to entertain .
all film is ultimately entertainment , regardless whether it ' s the battle of algiers or a documentary about penguins ,
he says .
it is all there to manipulate us . i don ' t want people to leave thinking they have the truth . what they have instead is an illusion of the truth .
ant - man and the wasp , starring paul rudd and evangeline lilly , took the top spot at . . .
all screenings are open to the public and take place at the campus theatre , 413 market street , lewisburg pa .
equally as offensive as the movie ' s smorgasbord of smut and violence is the lingering whiff of colonial - era orientalism , a western predilection for regarding eastern cultures as innately idle , lascivious , irrational , and thus ripe for intervention .
i read a piece this morning that i felt that almost made this interview redundant . it was a blog post on the movies on my mind site called killing in the name of good music which traces the acceptance of cornershop’s music among uk asian people in general . the author talks about why he feels that in the past your music hasn’t always been clutched to the heart of the community and lists a number of possible reasons before concluding that your music seems to be bigger with british asian people now more than ever . i was just wondering if you felt that this was the case ?
oscar micheaux ( u . s . 1931 ) 78 min . with eunice brooks , stanley morrell , celeste cole .