Backstabbing for Beginners

Backstabbing for Beginners follows Michael, an idealistic young man who lands a job at the United Nations coordinating the Oil for Food program in post-war Iraq. The role seems like the chance he wanted to help people, but he soon finds that the country's oil trade is tangled up with government agents and powerful corporate interests. As he settles into the work under Pasha, a veteran diplomat who knows the region well, Michael grows suspicious that something far larger is being kept from him. His investigation into a conspiracy reaching the highest levels puts his career, his life and the safety of those close to him at risk.

The film is a drama with historical and thriller elements, directed by Per Fly, who wrote the screenplay with Daniel Pyne. It followed Fly's Waltz for Monica (2013) and preceded Hammarskjöld: Fight for Peace (2023). Theo James plays Michael, with Ben Kingsley as Pasha, Jacqueline Bisset as Christina Dupre, and supporting turns from Rossif Sutherland, Brian Markinson and Rachel Wilson.

Released in January 2018 and running 108 minutes, the film drew a critics' rating of 4.7 out of 10 from 23 reviews, while audiences on TMDB rate it 6.2 out of 10 from 222 votes, a narrower gap than the critical score alone would suggest.