

The Middle Eastern oil industry is the backdrop of this tense drama, which weaves together numerous story lines. Bennett Holiday is an American lawyer in charge of facilitating a dubious merger of oil companies, while Bryan Woodman, a Switzerland-based energy analyst, experiences both personal tragedy and opportunity during a visit with Arabian royalty. Meanwhile, veteran CIA agent Bob Barnes uncovers an assassination plot with unsettling origins.
Acting
Clooney's Oscar-winning descent into broken idealism.
Writing
Gaghan's dense, unforgiving screenplay trusts zero hand-holding.

Director
Stephen Gaghan
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Clooney suffered a spinal injury during the torture scene that left him with chronic pain; he donated his Oscar paycheck to charity.
Released in 2005, it predicted the 2008 oil crash and Arab Spring tensions with eerie precision — Gaghan interviewed actual CIA officers and oil executives in Dubai.