Based on a true story of money, power and opulent decadence, Lionsgate’s The Devil's Double takes a white-knuckle ride deep into the lawless playground of excess and violence known as Baghdad, 1987. Summoned from the frontline to Saddam Hussein's palace, Iraqi army lieutenant Latif Yahia is thrust into the highest echelons of the "royal family" when he’s ordered to become the ‘fiday’ - or body double - to Saddam's son, the notorious "Black Prince" Uday Hussein, a reckless, sadistic party-boy with a rabid hunger for sex and brutality. With his and his family’s lives at stake, Latif must surrender his former self forever as he learns to walk, talk and act like Uday...

Normally the problem with scores like this, is that to convey a foreign setting (in this instance Baghdad) a lot of musical cliches usually have to be trotted out. While the soundtrack for The Devil's Double is occasionally guilty of this - mainly in the use of indigenous sounding musical instruments - the end result is a beautiful score that attempts to throw out lazy conventional cliches.

Yes, there are atmospheric filler moments, but again composer Christian Henson adds a little heart into these segments.

Over the last couple of years I've consistently been impressed with Henson's output. He's composed the soundtracks for The Secret of Moonacre, Triangle, Black Death and Malice in Wonderland and each of them has had a totally different feel. This isn't a one-trick-pony composer who keeps trotting out the same material, Henson appears to approach each project from scratch and, like a true artist in this field should, writes precisely to fit the mood of each project.

There's a lovely tongue-in-cheek moment that totally threw me off guard. 'Liberation' is a well craft cheesy retro disco track that will at the very least make you smile.

While this score probably won't be to the average soundtrack buffs taste, it's worth giving it a listen to appreciate the intricate work that's gone into it.

8

Darren Rea