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
George Clooney
Bob Barnes
Matt Damon
Bryan Woodman
Jeffrey Wright
Bennett Holiday
Chris Cooper
Jimmy Pope
Amanda Peet
Julie Woodman
William Hurt
Stan
Christopher Plummer
Dean Whiting
Alexander Siddig
Prince Nasir Al-Subaai
Kayvan Novak
Arash
Amr Waked
Mohammed Sheik Agiza
Robert Foxworth
Tommy Barton
Nicky Henson
Sydney Hewitt
Nicholas Art
Riley Woodman
Steven Hinkle
Max Woodman
Daisy Tormé
Rebecca
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.
US
