X
- 2018
- R
- A24
- 1 h 48 m
- 2018
- R
- A24
- 1 h 48 m
Summary Based on a true story, an idealistic young employee (Theo James) working at the UN investigates the grisly murder of his predecessor and uncovers a vast global conspiracy, that may even involve his own boss (Ben Kingsley).
Directed By: Per Fly
Written By: Daniel Pyne, Michael Soussan
- 2018
- R
- A24
- 1 h 48 m
- 2018
- R
- A24
- 1 h 48 m
Backstabbing for Beginners
48
5.4
Where to Watch
Summary Based on a true story, an idealistic young employee (Theo James) working at the UN investigates the grisly murder of his predecessor and uncovers a vast global conspiracy, that may even involve his own boss (Ben Kingsley).
Directed By: Per Fly
Written By: Daniel Pyne, Michael Soussan
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
48
25% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
50% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
25% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
48
25% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
50% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
25% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Although James' muted performance comes across as a bit lifeless alongside Kingsley's more colorful, masterfully modulated turn, the characterizations nevertheless allow for satisfyingly complex, real-world renderings of conventional heroes and villains.
It’s to the film’s credit that it creates a sense of high-stakes peril despite us knowing the rough outcome from the get-go, and largely without simplifying its moral dilemmas into straightforward choices between heroism and villainy.
There are so many ideas rattling around in Backstabbing for Beginners that are never resolved, and so many duplicitous characters that are never satisfactorily explained, that the end result is a muddle of confusion and violence that could end the future of tourism in Baghdad forever.
"Backstabbing” makes an interesting run at painting the many shades of grey in this corner of diplomacy.
The film is less a distillation of the real Soussan’s memoir than a radical simplification of it.
It fills the screen with a series of explicative conversations set in offices, hotels, and cars throughout which people don’t so much talk to each other as indirectly to the audience.
Poor genre efforts like Backstabbing for Beginners hurt cinema’s chance to survive and thrive as the greatest medium for storytelling.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 13 User Ratings
5.4
23% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
62% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 13 User Ratings
5.4
23% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
62% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
Creative Alliance,
Eyeworks Scandi Fiction,
Hoylake Capital,
Parts and Labor,
Scythia Films,
Waterstone Entertainment
Release Date Apr 27, 2018
Duration 1 h 48 m
Rating R
Tagline If You Dig Too Deep, You May Not Like What Comes Up
Website
http://baghdad-s.com/
Awards
Canadian Society of Cinematographers Awards
• 1 Nomination
