Rendition

By Nathan Young

Political films tend to chase away the casual moviegoer. They want to see explosions or be swept off their feet in a whirlwind romance. It is rare to find a film that captivates the audience while also challenging it to think. ‘Rendition’ is that film, which is why I am giving it a ‘thumbs up’.

Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) is on his way back to the United States from a business trip to South Africa. During a layover in Washington, he is plucked from the airport and whisked away to an unidentified North African country for interrogation about his role in a terrorist bombing. His wife Isabella (Reese Witherspoon) and son are waiting to pick him up in Chicago only to be told he never even boarded the plane in D.C.

Abasi Fawal (Yigal Naor), a local cop, and a green CIA agent named Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) question Anwar about the bombing and his connection to its mastermind. Abasi is so preoccupied with Anwar that he fails to notice when his daughter Fatima (Zineb Oukach) runs off with a young militant named Khalid (Mohammed Khouas).

Back in the States, Isabella sets out for Washington to find some answers about her husband. She enlists the help of her college boyfriend, Alan Smith (Peter Sarsgaard), who works for a U.S. Senator (Alan Arkin). In the process, they run into resistance from the head of American intelligence Corrine Whitman (Meryl Streep). Alan explains to Isabella the concept of ‘extraordinary rendition’, which allows the American government to take suspected terrorists to other countries for interrogation.

This film does a fine job of walking the political tightrope. When Alan is explaining the concept of rendition to Isabella, he notes that the policy was started under Bill Clinton but has been used considerably by George W. Bush since 9/11. The film seems to say that the use of this tactic is a gray area no matter what side of the conservative/liberal line you fall on.

‘Rendition’ works because director Gavin Hood brings out the gamut of emotions in his actors. Witherspoon brings a realistic sense of frustration and weariness to Isabella as her attempts to find Anwar are consistently stonewalled. She shows why she is one of the best actresses around in a scene in which Isabella screams at Corrine to tell her that her husband is okay.

Gyllenhaal gives an appropriately measured performance as Douglas. He stays detached emotionally as long as he can, but eventually cannot stand to see Anwar suffer anymore. Viewers may agree because the torture scenes are difficult to watch.

Streep, Arkin and Sarsgaard are all proficient. Streep is especially noteworthy for her stone cold portrayal of Corrine, which is reminiscent of her Golden Globe-nominated performance in ‘The Manchurian Candidate’

The Muslim characters were the best part of the film. Abasi was a complex individual and Naor adeptly displayed his Jekyll and Hyde personality. The forbidden love story between Fatima and Khalid was also intriguing because of the outstanding performances of Oukach and Khouas.

This film was entertaining and thought provoking. The acting was stellar and the writing was crisp. It kept my interest from start to finish and I recommend it highly to lovers of political thrillers.