Based on actual events, The Devil’s Double recounts the remarkable tale of Latif Yahia, an Iraqi army lieutenant who was summoned to Saddam Hussein’s palace in 1987 and ordered to become the fiday, or body double, of his notorious eldest son, Uday. Many of his countrymen might have considered this a great honor, but it was merely the beginning of a hellish nightmare for Latif. Under the constant threat of harm to his family, he had no choice but to play the role of silent witness while his nefarious captor indulged in countless brutal and depraved fantasies with no regard for human life.
In a brilliant turn, Dominic Cooper portrays both Uday and Latif with impressive ease, transitioning seamlessly between the personae of ruthless madman and disgusted observer. Director Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors) makes his return to the Sundance Film Festival with this unimaginable true story straight from Saddam’s Iraq.