Live from Baghdad (2002)

 Live from Baghdad (2002)

Live from Baghdad is a hard-hitting, made-for-television movie that takes place during the first Gulf War. Ironically, Mick Jackson’s HBO film was released just as the United States was getting involved with Iraq for the second time. In terms of production value, you can tell the film was made for television. What action scenes there were tended to be well-made especially that bombing sequence towards the end. The film does exhibit magnificent performances especially from Michael Keaton and Helena Bonham Carter. Thematically, the film pushes across questions that are not easy to answer. What is the role of press in the international scene? Should censorship be a viable option for countries? What would it take to show the world the “truth?” As 24-hour news groups such as CNN take over the business, coming up with the brand-new story gets harder and harder. Just ask tough-as-nails producer Robert Wiener, as he tries to make Saddam Hussein more accessible to the world. I also liked how the film is neutral politically. It is not a film about politics, but rather a film about the media. At its core, Jackson was able to create a film about its characters.

This film tells the story of CNN producers Robert Wiener (Michael Keaton) and Ingrid Formanek (Helena Bonham Carter) in the behind-the-scenes attempt to get the story of a lifetime. In 1991, the world witnessed the intense live reporting of Bernard Shaw (Robert Wisdom), Peter Arnett (Bruce McGill), and John Holliman (John Carroll Lynch) as Baghdad endured intense periods of bombing. What the world did not know is what Wiener had to do to get all of this to happen. The film is based on his memoirs and actually had a hand in writing the screenplay. Anyhow, the film starts off one year before the war in 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. The rest of the movie is Wiener and his team trying to get an audience with Hussein and to report the events of the war as the only livefeed from the Iraqi capital.

The film has decent performances, especially from Keaton. He really nailed the ballsy, to-the point antics of Wiener. Carter also delivered a top-notch performance in a role that is far from which she is accustomed to. There is also a strong supporting cast from the likes of David Suchet who plays Naji Al-Hadithi, Clark Gregg, Michael Cudlitz, and Lili Taylor. The film has a very low budget, so do not go expecting lots of fireworks. Instead, expect a character-driven story that asks some very hard questions about the role of media in the world’s changing landscape. For a minute, I even forgot Live from Baghdad was a television movie. I see it as an honest character piece that takes its time to tell the story it wants.

My Grade: B