STEPHEN Gaghan, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Traffic, steps behind the camera to direct this intricate ensemble piece about intelligence and terrorism in the oil industry starring George Clooney, Matt Damon and Alexander Siddig.


Syriana is an incredibly vivid and complex mosaic of corporate corruption and double-dealing.


Performances are an embarrassment of riches as Syriana abandons the constraints of conventional, fluid story arcs, offering us a fleeting and tantalising glimpse at a much larger drama.

When the end credits roll after an intense two hours, we desperately yearn for more.