Brightest Young Things

Paul Greengrass' Green Zone is an excellent procedural, and also something more. Set in the first months after the Iraq invasion, it reawakens familiar frustrations with neocon flunkies by suggesting they used deliberately faulty intelligence. Matt Damon's star-power facilitates an easy entry into the complicated motivations of his character and the supporting cast. As with most mainstream thrillers, some choices stretch the boundaries of plausibility, yet strong performances ease such concerns. Greengrass' trademark shaky-cam technique is in full swing here, and this time it isn't distracting – it even adds suspense to the battle sequences. Though one set piece runs a bit longer than it should, it's a minor concern. Green Zone is so effective it may cause audiences to further research the Bush administration's disastrous shortcomings.

It's April 2003 in Baghdad, and Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller's (Damon) orders are to find weapons of mass destruction. Faulty intelligence leads him into danger and empty warehouses, so his frustration grows, particularly as higher-ups call his competence into question. A like-minded CIA agent (Brendan Gleeson) also watches helplessly as a DoD representative Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear) ignores credible advice, and instead pushes subordinates to follow the administration's “goal” of uncovering WMD. Fed up with purposeless missions, Miller follows a tip from a sympathetic Iraqi (Khalid Abdalla) which leads him to General Al Rawi (Yigal Naor) aka the Jack of Clubs. Though Al Rawi escapes, he may be the key to solving the WMD riddle, so when a Special Forces unit led by Briggs (Jason Isaacs) interrupts Miller's interrogation, he resolves to work outside the army's parameters. A clandestine meeting with a shrewd Wall Street Journal reporter (Amy Ryan) confirms a previously unimaginable conspiracy. In a last-ditch effort, Miller struggles to get the truth by apprehending Al Rawi. The mission is a disaster precisely because of Poundstone's poor decision-making, so survival becomes Miller's top priority.

Let there be no doubt the US Army, the CIA, and the Wall Street Journal never enjoyed such ease of communication with one another. Working from a Rajiv Chandrasekaran's non-fiction account of Operation Iraqi Freedom, screenwriter Brian Helgeland uses Miller as a comfortable amalgam of soldiers and intelligence officers. I don't intend this as a criticism – a likable soldier is an excellent entry into this material (especially since Miller's attitude is similar to mainstream America's at that time). Amidst the action there's nonstop debate over how to proceed in Iraq, and while Helgeland simplifies the opinions of his characters, he never panders. Motivations of Americans and Iraqis are surprisingly complex, and add to the tension because their actions are consistent with their outlook. Unlike the Bourne sequels, Greengrass gives the action a much-needed dose of realism. When Miller engages in hand-to-hand combat, he does not employ impressive martial arts. Like a frightened-but-trained fighter, his desperate punches are above all a struggle to survive. In the early scenes, Miller's orders help his unit and the audience understand how the action proceeds. When Miller is on his own, Greengrass slows his editing just enough so the movements of Miller, Al Rawi, and the Special Forces are easy to follow. Even if the climax includes an unnecessary car chase, the pursuit is mostly exhilarating.

Damon does not make Miller into a showy rebel - such a decision would be a mistake because Green Zone depends upon the audience's acceptance of Miller's insubordination. Instead he makes Miller into a smart, curious soldier, the kind who doesn't like when he's lied to. Early scenes define him as a pragmatic leader – when he tells a fellow soldier to, “Get your fucking game face on,” the line is funny because the f-bomb betrays Miller's stern authority. The supporting cast is strong because, again, they act more like competent professionals than as cut-and-dry heroes/villains. As the de-facto Paul Bremmer, Kinnear combines his everyman quality with the dim eyes one has come to expect from a Bush administration lackey - his character is quite the loathsome bureaucrat. Ryan and Gleeson, on the other hand,  are shrewd professionals – they exhibit a believable combination of intelligence and world-weary cynicism, particularly as Poundstone's subterfuge appears insurmountable. Abdalla has the thankless role as the friendly Iraqi – his indignant lectures will be familiar to fans of other Iraq War thrillers. Still, his uneasy chemistry with Damon is the movie's central relationship, and their forced respect adds yet another layer of satisfying tension.

Looking back upon the mishandling of the Iraq invasion, it's easy to feel a combination of anger and helplessness*. De-Baathification, for example, is a disastrous choice which almost certainly helped spark civil war. When operatives in Green Zone discuss the merits of such a policy, Hegeland wisely avoids exhaustive detail, instead opting for maximum emotional impact. Among the more strong emotions the movie inspires, there's also an element of bitter irony – it’s easy to laugh bitterly when characters watch President Bush deliver his now-infamous aircraft carrier victory speech. With top-notch action, Greengrass heightens the overall impact. His work makes it easy for audiences to care about the characters, and more importantly, the ideals for which they fight. Rarely do thrillers engage connect on so many levels. For fans of the genre, this one is a must-see.

* If you’re interested in a non-fiction account of the Bush administration’s blundering of the war in Iraq, I heartily recommend No End in Sight. In fact, I think it and Green Zone would make a terrific double feature.