DVDs in Review

The Devil's Double (2011)

Title: The Devil’s Double (2011)

Release date: 22 November 2011

Certificate: 18

RRP: £9.99

Format: DVD

Rating: 3/5

Reviewed by Jessica McKay

A war film refreshingly filmed from the Iraqi’s viewpoint, The Devil’s Double tells the true story of Latif Yahia who was forced to be the body double of Saddam Hussein's son, Uday.

Dominic Cooper plays the parts of both the merciless killer, and Latif, the humble man whose family would be condemned to death had he refused to live alongside Uday. Forced into a world of rape, torture and drugs Latif struggles to cope with the new life he has been given.

Set in Baghdad, Uday has everything he wants, wealth, women and authority but uses the latter to descend pain and suffering on his people. He snatches and rapes girls off the streets, as his obsession with sex and power spirals out of control.

Dominic Cooper plays both of his contrasting roles flawlessly, seamlessly giving the impression he is in fact two different people.

As an adaptation of a true story, some of the harrowing scenes are hard to believe but give a superb yet shocking insight into what really went on in the lives of the Hussein family. Highly recommended but not for the faint-hearted.