George Clooney is a CIA agent in the political thriller "Syriana." Click photo for larger image. "Syriana" Rating: R for violence and language Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon Director: Stephen Gaghan "Syriana" Web site

At times, it seems that a ticket for "Syriana" should come with a cheat sheet and a tiny flashlight. That way you could consult your scorecard to see who Tim Blake Nelson or Robert Foxworth plays, and what the difference is between the Texas oil companies called Killen and Connex.

"Syriana" is a densely written, intelligent, complex political thriller set against the backdrop of the global oil industry. That tent is big enough to accommodate Texas oilmen, CIA agents past and present, Washington lawyers, energy analysts, one emir, a pair of princes, migrant workers from Pakistan and assorted family members and others.

Stephen Gaghan, who won an Academy Award for his adapted screenplay of "Traffic," here tackles both the writing and directing. He takes "Traffic" and raises the ante, or so it seems, with four story lines going at once and some of the dot-connecting left to the moviegoer.

In other words: Don't arrive late, don't duck out for an extended visit to the concession counter and don't think you'll be able to text-message and watch at the same time.

In "Syriana," Matt Damon, left, plays an energy analyst; George Clooney, center, plays a CIA agent; and Alexander Siddig, right, plays a prince. Click photo for larger image.

The faces in the far-flung strands include: CIA agent Bob Barnes (George Clooney), who assassinates arms dealers in Tehran but is nagged by the disappearance of a Stinger missile; ambitious attorney Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey Wright), navigating the shark-infested waters of an oil merger; energy analyst Bryan Woodman (Matt Damon), living with his wife and two young sons in Geneva; and an open-minded prince (Alexander Siddig) whose relationships with his emir father, callow younger brother and fuel-thirsty Americans and Chinese send ripples far and wide.

Gaghan throws a net over the globe and shows us the connections from there to here. Watching "Syriana" is like peering at the world through binoculars atop an observation deck and every now and then, pausing to zoom in and watch the family drama (much of it concerning fathers and sons) unfold.

A CIA agent's son pleads for a normal senior year of high school and calls his parents "professional liars." A father defies his hotshot son's orders not to smoke in his house. Migrants who lose their jobs in the Persian Gulf oil fields take divergent paths, one leading to possible sacrifice and suicide.

The big speech of the movie is, not surprisingly, about corruption, and it's delivered by a Texas oilman played by Tim Blake Nelson, one of Clooney's co-stars in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

"We have laws against it precisely so we can get away with it. Corruption is our protection. Corruption keeps us safe and warm. Corruption is why you and I are prancing around in here instead of fighting over scraps of meat out in the street. Corruption ... is why we win."

Washington wisdom is much in evidence, as when an assistant attorney general suggests there's no way a small Texas oil company could have swung a deal without paying someone off. And, in a savvy observation about the nation's capital: "In this town, you're innocent until you're investigated."

This is the movie, by the way, where Clooney was injured during a torture scene which is brutal but blessedly brief. He and Damon stand out in an excellent ensemble, which includes Oscar winners and other notables in smaller roles. William Hurt, for instance, plays a retired CIA agent, while Chris Cooper is the owner of Killen oil company and Amanda Peet is Damon's wife.

The drug wars of "Traffic," directed by Steven Soderbergh, seemed much more manageable. But Gaghan pulls off an ending in which someone literally has a finger on the trigger, and every second or serendipitous move has life-or-death implications.

In a world where remakes, TV adaptations and video games are clogging the theaters, "Syriana" is smart, thought-provoking and, at times, confusing. Still, it's better to be challenged about important subjects than insulted about unimportant ones.

And "Syriana" squarely falls into that first category.