Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Simply A Masterpiece

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Corruption, Corruption everywhere. Terrific movie about inner working of UN aid program in Iraq prior to the 2003 US invasion. Top notch acting.

Michael Soussan's memoir of his experiences working for the UN during the Iraqi crisis has been transformed into a tightly woven screenplay by Daniel Pine and director Per Fly. The true story is at once enlightening, horrifying, and maddening - some truth about the degree of corruption on al levels of government not only in this country but also around the world.Theo James takes on the role of Michal Soussan as he unravels the tale of the misappropriation of United Nations money in the Oil for Food program that was intended to supply food and medicine to the victims of Saddam Hussein's brutal madness in Iraq 2002 - 2003. The cast is uniformly excellent with the superb Ben Kingsley as the UN undersecretary Pasha in charge of the Oil for Food humanitarian effort to aid the desperate Iraqi citizens. He hires the somewhat naïve Michael Soussan to go to Baghdad to oversee the supposed infiltration of evil in the humanitarian program. Michael's naïveté fails to face the complex dealings of Christine Dupre (Jacqueline Bisset), the Kurdish Nashim (Belçim Bilgin), the evil Rasnetsov (Brian Markinson), and other characters portrayed by Rossif Sutherland, Rachel Wilson, Peshang Rad, among others.The depth and extent of corruption in the manipulation of the billions of dollars sent for humanitarian aid but foiled by Hussein and the governments and big businesses of the world leading up to the attack on Iraq by President George Bush's included photomontage speech is horrifying. Yes, we all have heard and read about the extent of global corruption, but to watch it occur along with mass killings and degrading behaviors is staggeringly real and disgusting. Did the film need to be made? Yes, if we all care about somehow finding a means to end the greed and hypocrisy that still remains a global plague. Not an inspiring film, but a necessary one. And well done.

In the bonus segment of the DVD of "Backstabbing for Beginners," writer-director Per Fly described his goal of capturing in the diplomatic world "the grey area of life where every human being exists." He also observed that corruption is the only way of life in the "system" of geopolitical affairs. The film was adapted from the Michael Soussan book that exposed the duplicity and greed behind the United Nations multi-billion-dollar "Oil-for-Food" program that was rife with bribes, kickbacks, and sweetheart deals. The corruption was so widespread that it involved two thousand companies and fifty-six countries. The screenplay depicted the intersection of the shady "Oil-for-Food" operation with the equally duplicitous pretext for the United States to invade Iraq. Occasionally, documentary footage is interspersed with the action of the film. Initially, Per Fly wanted to make a documentary film, then reshaped his screenplay into the fictionalized version of the story. But the blending of documentary and fictional styles is effective for this subject.The film was successful in evoking the director's vision of the "grey area" of characters who may be simultaneously humanitarians and crooks. This dialectic is no more apparent than in the character of the diplomat Pasha, brilliantly performed by Ben Kingsley. Pasha has genuine concern for feeding and providing medical care to starving children. But that does not prevent him as well from becoming a cynic and a grifter.One might even argue that Michael, the idealistic young protégé of Pasha, also lives in a grey area where he will sacrifice a vital piece of incriminating evidence in order to save Nashim, with whom he has fallen in love. Still, the young diplomat whom Pasha calls "The Kid" has enough integrity to continue the fight for of peace and justice.It is unfortunate that we do not have many examples of "The Kid" in current diplomatic affairs. But when they do surface, it is a cause for celebrating our humanity and the desire to move closer to a peaceful world order.

Apparently a fictionalized account of Michael Soussan's 2008 memoir of the same name. Theo James stars as Michael Sulliivan, a 24-year-old hired for a high position at the United Nations to help administer the Oil-for-Food program in Iraq after the First Gulf War. He'll be a Special Assistant to the Under-Secretary-General (Ben Kingsley).The seemingly naive Michael will soon find himself in the midst of massive corruption, kickbacks, yes-backstabbing, and even murder, with so many billions of dollars at stake. Some of the decision making by him and others had me often shaking my head in disbelief. Moving into the ridiculous, why did Kingsley's character "Pasha" find it necessary to use the "f" word in just about every sentence?Overall, just not enough dramatic tension here to make this a really engrossing movie. It did have its moments but I can't rate it higher than fair.