Hollywood and politics have always been very friendly bedfellows, but unless it's a Michael Moore movie they very rarely shine a bright light on their association. Not so with Syriana. It not only looks like a film with a political point, it actually has a sister web site dedicated to its cause.
Steven Gaghon, the writer of Traffic, recovered from the hammering Havoc took (also written by Gaghon) by penning and directing Syriana. The film stars George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright and Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir to you Trekkies) and focuses on a presumably fictional battle between American corporations over oil in the Middle East.
The movie is sponsored by Participate.net, a group who champions change through filmmaking. They've backed other recent projects like North Country and Good Night, and Good Luck, which tackle the topics of sexual harrassment in the work place and lack of responsibiliy in the media, respectively. This time they're out to show how unstable the oil industry is, and how urgent it is that we find new sources of energy. Yeah, like prices at the pump and on the heating bill haven't already driven that fact home. Their web site appears at the end of the trailer for Syriana, which you can check out below along with some stills.
The movie looks good from the trailer, but I'm always a little edgy when a movie focuses on some kind of cause. It almost always gets in the way of the storytelling. Syriana arrives in theaters this Decemeber.
