What do you get when you cross American geopolitics, the CIA, oil rich Middle Eastern nations and incredibly powerful energy corporations? The answer in cinematic terms is Syriana, Stephen Gaghan's complex, beguiling and often incredibly perplexing conspiracy thriller. Starring George Clooney as a CIA operative, Matt Damon as an energy analyst and Jeffrey Wright as a Washington attorney, Syriana's structure bears more than a passing resemblance to Steven Soderbergh's Traffic, which was also scripted by Gaghan. The confusion which sometimes arises from the multiple overlapping parallel storylines is at least partly intended, putting the viewer in the position of the characters and allowing them to feel their own confusion as to why events unfold as they do. The cloak and dagger world of shadowy intelligence agencies and closed door meetings between powerful men has rarely been captured so accurately, and it is to Gaghan's credit that he refuses to tone down the many complexities the subject matter raises.
