Check Out the Trailer

While it stars Matt Damon and is directed by Paul Greengrass, GREEN ZONE isn’t Jason Bourne in Iraq as the ads make it out to be. It is more akin to conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s. There is something fishy going on in Baghdad and one soldier is dedicated to getting to the bottom of it.

CWO Roy Miller (Damon) is that soldier. The story begins with his undaunted effort to investigate an alleged WMD location while the area is being looted. When his unit comes up empty handed again, he questions the intel, but his superiors stand by the reports. His determination to not settle piques the interest of CIA agent Brown (Brendan Gleeson, IN BRUGES), who too questions the intel.

Meanwhile, reporter Lawrie Dayne (Amy Ryan, GONE BABY GONE) is looking into the source of the intelligence that confirmed Iraq still had a WMD program. She was the one to break the story, which made the case for war, in the first place. She received the information from provisional government officer Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear, BABY MAMA), who knows who the source, Magellan, really is, and she wants an interview.

Out on a mission, Miller and his team are approached by an Iraqi citizen named Freddy (Khalid Abdalla, THE KITE RUNNER), who claims to have witnessed a meeting of high-level members of the Iraqi National Guard. This includes Al Rawi (Yigal Naor, TV’s HOUSE OF SADDAM), a royal in the military’s deck of cards hit list. However, the mission ends badly for Miller when special forces get involved. His run in with their leader Lt. Briggs (Jason Isaacs, HARRY POTTER) is especially rough.

Miller, with Freddie as his interpreter, now teams with Brown to dig deeper. But this goes afoul of the wishes of Poundstone, so Miller must go rogue to find the truth. It’s nice to see the CIA played as the good guys for a change. But the special forces do fill in as the military boogiemen nicely this time around.

The script from Brian Helgeland (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL) based on Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s book IMPERIAL LIFE IN THE EMERALD CITY: INSIDE IRAQ’S GREEN ZONE mixes fact and fiction effortlessly. While it certainly plays loose with the facts, especially when it makes Bush administration decisions more nefarious than incompetent, the film stays grounded enough in reality that it never seems ridiculous or preachy. It’s hard to argue that the Bush administration wasn’t hell bent on going into Iraq and fudged intel to make that happen. That’s the basis of the film and it hangs over it completely.

Knowing this fact, early on, the missions to find WMDs take on an ever more ominous tone, because these dedicated soldiers are risking their lives on pointless errands based on lies. How the truth comes out plays on the agendas of the parties involved and dictates their actions. Al Rawi wants to retain power and is convinced the Americans will come to him eventually to help bring order. Frankie is an Iraqi patriot who has already lost a great deal for his country. He only wants what is best for his homeland, no matter how that comes about. Poundstone has a great deal to hide. When your boss will not accept no for an answer, how would you react? We also learn that former Baathists have families too and will do anything to protect them. They’re more willing to talk when they can make deals rather then when they’re dead.

With a smart and determined hero at the center, Greengrass weaves through the plot with nimble ease. Miller is a formidable fighter who charges forward and bobs and weaves when punches are thrown. He’s like Bourne in that he’s a joy to watch do his thing. The story builds to an inevitable conclusion where the whys and whos are what make it compelling. Who pulls the final trigger and why puts Iraq and its people at the center of the Iraq war.