Syriana (2005)

NEUTRAL

Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube

75%

2005, Drama, 2h 8m

RT Critics’ Score: 73% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 67%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
13 wins & 30 nominations total

Click to Stream

Critics Consensus

Ambitious, complicated, intellectual, and demanding of its audience, Syriana is both a gripping geopolitical thriller and wake-up call to the complacent

Audience Consensus

Syriana is like a puzzle box that you can’t help but try to solve. It’s a movie that makes you think, and if you’re not careful, it might just give you a geopolitical nightmare. But don’t let that scare you away! This complex thriller is worth the challenge, and it’s refreshing to see a film that treats its audience like adults. Plus, it’s hard to resist a movie that portrays the genesis of Islamic suicide bombers in such a radical and empathetic way. So, grab some popcorn and get ready to have your mind blown!

Storyline

American oil companies Connex and smaller Killen are undergoing a merger, the new company named Connex-Killen. The move is in response to Connex losing a number of oil fields in the Persian Gulf region as Prince Nasir Al-Subaai, his country’s foreign minister, and the oldest son of the Emir and thus the heir apparent to the throne, signed a contract with the Chinese instead. As Killen somehow managed to get the contract for the oil fields in Kazahkstan, the merger would give Connex-Killen additional control of the industry in the Middle East. Connex’s retained law firm, headed by Dean Whiting, assigns Bennett Holiday to demonstrate to the US Department of Justice that due diligence has been done to allow the merger to proceed i.e. that the merger would not break any antitrust regulations. The US government is unhappy with Prince Nasir’s decision to award the contract to the Chinese, and in combination with issues around illegal weapons, the CIA assigns field agent Bob Barnes, who has experience in the Middle East, to assassinate the Prince, whose eventual leadership would further undermine US oil security. Barnes becomes a pawn in the goings-on between the players. Meanwhile, Geneva based Bryan Woodman, an energy analyst, eventually becomes associated with the Emir and his family, largely due to a tragic incident. In the process, Woodman learns of Prince Nasir’s western leanings and his want to change radically his country into a western democracy with a diversified economy. If the Emir found out, it could threaten Prince Nasir ascension to the throne and thus derail the democratization process. Through all these manoeuvrings, migrant workers are affected, some who cannot retain work with the changing of companies controlling the oil. Some of those may try to take matters into their own hands for their form of justice.

Production Company(ies)

Distributor
Warner Bros.

Release Type
Theatrical

Filming Location(s)
Casablanca, Morocco

MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence and language

Year of Release
2005

Technical Specs

Color:

Color
Sound mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
Aspect ratio:

2.39 : 1
Runtime:

2h 8m
Language(s):

English, Urdu, Arabic, Persian, French, Mandarin
Country of origin:

United States
Release date:

Release Date (Theaters): Dec 9, 2005 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 20, 2006

Genre(s)
Drama

Keyword(s)
Syriana, drama, 2h 8m, starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Peet, Chris Cooper, Tim Blake Nelson, directed by Stephen Gaghan, written by Robert Baer, Stephen Gaghan, John Bowker, produced by George Clooney, Ben Cosgrove, Jennifer Fox, reviewed by Zadie Smith, Victoria Segal, J.R Jones, David Ansen, Stephanie Zacharek, Ryan Gilbey, Michael Clark, PJ Nabarro, Fernando F Croce, James Mottram, Brian Marder, R-rated, geopolitical thriller, wake-up call, Middle Eastern oil industry, dubious merger of oil companies, Switzerland-based energy analyst, Arabian royalty, veteran CIA agent, assassination plot, Warner Bros., Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS, Scope (2.35:1), $50.8M box office performance

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $93,974,620
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $143,215,755
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 854
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 15,617,858

US/Canada gross: $50,824,620
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $77,455,874
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 873
US/Canada opening weekend: $374,502
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $570,735
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,375

Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $50,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $76,199,167
Production budget ranking: 555
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $41,033,251
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $25,983,337
ROI to date (est.): 22%
ROI ranking: 1,285

Cast & Crew

George Clooney

Matt Damon

Jeffrey Wright

Amanda Peet

Chris Cooper

Bob Barnes

Bryan Woodman

Bennett Holiday

Julie Woodman

Jimmy Pope

George Clooney – Bob Barnes
Matt Damon – Bryan Woodman
Jeffrey Wright – Bennett Holiday
Amanda Peet – Julie Woodman
Chris Cooper – Jimmy Pope
Tim Blake Nelson – Danny Dalton
Director – Stephen Gaghan
Producers – George Clooney, Ben Cosgrove, Jennifer Fox
Writers – Robert Baer, Stephen Gaghan, John Bowker

Stephen Gaghan

Robert Baer

George Clooney

Ben Cosgrove

Jennifer Fox

Director

Writer

Producer

Director(s)
Stephen Gaghan

Writer(s)
Robert Baer, Stephen Gaghan, John Bowker

Producer(s)
George Clooney, Ben Cosgrove, Jennifer Fox

Film Festivals

Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
13 wins & 30 nominations total

Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners

Top Reviews

Zadie Smith

Victoria Segal

J. R. Jones

David Ansen

Stephanie Zacharek

Daily Telegraph

New Statesman

Chicago Reader

Newsweek

Salon.com

SYRIANA
All Critics (198) | Top Critics (61) | Fresh (144) | Rotten (54)
Syriana is an American movie that reaches out beyond itself. Watching it made me feel hopeful — a rare sensation in a cinema.

January 17, 2018

Zadie Smith
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
… If you can avoid getting too hung up on the details, Syriana is a brave attempt to blitz the goody-baddy dynamics of cold-war film-making and concentrate on the ambiguities of modern geopolitics.

September 26, 2017

Victoria Segal
New Statesman
TOP CRITIC
This is intelligent, committed, and politically provocative, though its narrative puzzle box may prompt you to throw up your hands and let ExxonMobil go on running the world.

March 30, 2009

J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Its dark, dog-eat-dog vision of the world we live in may give you geopolitical nightmares.

November 1, 2007

David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
It’s entirely possible that Gaghan just isn’t an actor’s director.

October 7, 2006

Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com
TOP CRITIC
The disorientation is purely cosmetic.

September 28, 2006

Ryan Gilbey
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
This movie is certainly not for all, or even most tastes. If you prefer something light, breezy, and uncomplicated, don’t even waste your time. It gets up in your face and under your skin and grows only more confrontational and damning as it progresses.

May 13, 2022 | Rating: 5/5

Michael Clark
Epoch Times
A complex thriller that challenges its audience with a fascinating story woven among several plot threads.

November 19, 2019 | Rating: A

Micheal Compton
Bowling Green Daily News
I’m hard-pushed to think of a more cynical and self-critical American picture, and one that so radically and empathetically portrays the genesis of Islamic suicide bombers.

December 16, 2018 | Rating: 3/5

PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro
A skeleton of theme minus the meat of resonance

September 1, 2009

Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
A film that treats its audience as adults, this is an extremely rewarding work that handsomely pays off the concentration required to watch it.

March 30, 2009

James Mottram
Film4
November 20, 2008 | Rating: 3/5

Brian Marder
Hollywood.com…

Plot
American oil companies Connex and smaller Killen are undergoing a merger, the new company named Connex-Killen. The move is in response to Connex losing a number of oil fields in the Persian Gulf region as Prince Nasir Al-Subaai, his country’s foreign minister, and the oldest son of the Emir and thus the heir apparent to the throne, signed a contract with the Chinese instead. As Killen somehow managed to get the contract for the oil fields in Kazahkstan, the merger would give Connex-Killen additional control of the industry in the Middle East. Connex’s retained law firm, headed by Dean Whiting, assigns Bennett Holiday to demonstrate to the US Department of Justice that due diligence has been done to allow the merger to proceed i.e. that the merger would not break any antitrust regulations. The US government is unhappy with Prince Nasir’s decision to award the contract to the Chinese, and in combination with issues around illegal weapons, the CIA assigns field agent Bob Barnes, who has experience in the Middle East, to assassinate the Prince, whose eventual leadership would further undermine US oil security. Barnes becomes a pawn in the goings-on between the players. Meanwhile, Geneva based Bryan Woodman, an energy analyst, eventually becomes associated with the Emir and his family, largely due to a tragic incident. In the process, Woodman learns of Prince Nasir’s western leanings and his want to change radically his country into a western democracy with a diversified economy. If the Emir found out, it could threaten Prince Nasir ascension to the throne and thus derail the democratization process. Through all these manoeuvrings, migrant workers are affected, some who cannot retain work with the changing of companies controlling the oil. Some of those may try to take matters into their own hands for their form of justice.

Trivia