Body of Lies

Body of Lies (2008) — watch online this spy thriller directed by Ridley Scott, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and Scott Free Productions. Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe lead the cast; the screenplay adapts David Ignatius's novel of the same name. Runtime: 128 minutes.

CIA field officer Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) moves through Jordan, Iraq and Europe tracking the architect of a string of bombings. Back in Virginia, his handler Ed Hoffman (Crowe) monitors the operation via satellite link — between school drop-offs and weekend barbecues. Ferris bleeds for every lead; Hoffman repositions assets with a phone call. That gap between boots-on-ground and remote command is where the film lives. To flush the target, Ferris runs an elaborate deception operation alongside Jordanian intelligence chief Hani (Mark Strong), a scheme that demands something neither man is comfortable with: being straight with the people on their own side. Golshifteh Farahani plays Aisha, a local nurse who complicates Ferris's already fractured cover. Oscar Isaac appears in an early supporting role.

Scott shot across Morocco, Jordan and the UK chasing a documentary texture — handheld, close, rarely comfortable. The $70 million production returned more than $113 million worldwide. This is less a chase film than a study in how intelligence agencies lie to each other while chasing a common enemy. Stream Body of Lies online on iFILM.