'Syriana' Weaves Stories of Oil and Power

Fresh Air | By David Edelstein

Published December 2, 2005 at 12:00 AM EST

The new film Syriana is an interwoven tale of terrorism and covert business interests. Written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, the movie stars George Clooney, Matt Damon, William Hurt, Amanda Peet and Chris Cooper.

The film shows signs of Gaghan's ability to put a variety of plots in motion, as he did on his script for the award-winning film about the drug trade, Traffic.

Syriana weaves stories from an oil-rich princedom in the Middle East; an energy company in Texas; and lobbyists and regulators in Washington into a picture of today's oil business climate.

David Edelstein

David Edelstein is a film critic for New York magazine and for NPR's Fresh Air, and an occasional commentator on film for CBS Sunday Morning. He has also written film criticism for the Village Voice, The New York Post, and Rolling Stone, and is a frequent contributor to the New York Times' Arts & Leisure section.

See stories by David Edelstein

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