Reno Rangan The film was based on the book of the same name that tells the true story of a young Iraqi man Latif, who was forced to body double the Saddam Hussein's playboy son, Uday. This is the reason I was not interested in this. Usually biopics are made to inspire the viewers, but there are negative films as well and this is one of those. Actually, it was not about the Saddam or his politics or his family, except Uday. So it was told from the perspective of Latif. How he suffered and fought back was the film focused on.After watching it so delay, I think I was wrong about it. The film is for adults, but the thing is it reveals lots of dark secrets of Uday's lifestyle. Sadly the film did not cover much of the Saddam Hussein's events. The Kiwi filmmaker did his best. Dominic Cooper's performance in the dual role was the highlight. That should be the reason to watch this, because you know like me, people are turning it away once they read whose story is this. This film is here to remind us the bad history about the bad people, other than that there's nothing in it.6/10

Theo Robertson During the war with Iran an Iraqi officer Latif Yahia is pulled from the front lines and taken to Baghdad . He is asked to become a double for the President's son Uday Hussain . Considering there's many dangers involved for being a double Latif is hesitant and after a quick visit to an Iraqi torture chamber Latif agrees knowing that being on the front line against the Persians was probably an easier occupation After seeing Tom Hardy in LEGEND playing a dual role . I came back to this film which I saw a couple of times in a dodgy bar in Nepal . Unlike LEGEND this is a film that remains almost unknown which is a pity because I found it quite compelling . With hindsight I can see why there is a lot of criticism to the source !!!!SPOILERS !!!!! If nothing else Dominic Cooper is brilliant as both Latif and Uday and if memory serves me right he was also the best thing about Dracula Untold a couple of years ago and Cooper is probably a contender for most underrated actor in the business today . In fact I had to keep checking that it was the same actor playing Latif and Uday because the whole mannerism between the two characters are entirely different Some journalists have questioned the whole veracity of Latif's accounts and watching the final third of the film they certainly have a point . Latif and another character escape Iraq to Malta and within minutes of arriving at a hotel they get a phone call from Uday saying he has a member of Latif's family as a hostage . Latif is shocked . "How does he know we are here ?" he gasps . Yeah I'd like to know too . Within a short space of time he survives an assassination attempt and one wonders how Saddam's secret police had the information to carry this out ? One element of truth that does come in to play is Uday surviving an assassination attempt in 1996 which leaves him crippled but are we honestly asked to believe Latif was the triggerman ? Credibility takes an ever further dive when Latif is caught by Uday's bodyguard but is let go because the bodyguard is thankful for Latif not killing him earlier in the film . All this seems too contrived to be in anyway credible If nothing else THE DEVIL'S DOUBLE is still worth seeing for Cooper's performance and for giving a window as to what Iraq was like under the brutal Hussain crime syndicate but take the "facts" portrayed here with a pinch of salt

begob How dumb am I #1: I waited for the credits to find out who played Uday - great performance. Then I saw it was the same actor as Latif. OMG! Amazing.How dumb am I #2: I thought this was a true story, so in the final scenes in Malta and the bazaar I was thinking "unlikely, but such is life".It's a good thriller and character study. Uday is like Caligula, but Latif is a bit dull. The girlfriend seemed a bit random, especially in the end. And the sex and violence should have been more explicit - instead it's quite tasteful.Loved the music all the way through.Overall I think this is a bit simple, because it should have had more interesting things to say on identity and used the doubleness to explore the story.

poddylobo I did not expect to enjoy this film. I decided to give it a go as a way of increasing my knowledge of the world and recent past events (or rather decreasing my ignorance), but then got so much more out of it.The basic premise reminded me of The Parent Trap. Not so surprisingly, however, Cooper does a much better job than Lohan of keeping each character distinct. Our warmth towards Latif grows in the same measure as our disgust towards Uday.The only difficulty characterwise is in understanding why Uday behaves the way he does. But I guess this is what makes us hate him rather than pity him. The fact that he's a complete mamma's boy is a nice touch, however, and adds a little bit more texture to the character.Like The Parent Trap, there's some mild humour running through. Unlike The Parent Trap, the violence is anything but mild.So by the end of the film I have fulfilled my objectives of learning more about the world (Iraq-Kuwait war, Hussein family) and seen a moving film with good characters in the bargain.