After a terrorist bombing kills an American envoy in a foreign country, an investigation leads to an Egyptian living in the United States. This man has been living in the States for years and is married to an American. He is apprehended on a layover on a flight home from abroad, and sent to the country where the bombing had occurred. He is sent for interrogation about the incident, interrogation which includes torture. The movie follows an American CIA operative observing the interrogation, at odds with himself about the usefulness/morality of the interrogation; the prisoner's wife back in the States, trying hard to find him; and a young couple who may or may not be involved in additional terrorist activities.
One of the guys I work with is another movie junkie, and let us borrow this one from his collection. I knew it was a more serious movie, from the little I'd heard about it, so it did take us a few days before I was in the right mood to watch it. And I'm definitely glad we waited til I wasn't in the movie for something light. This movie is HEAVY!!!! Definitely a thinking movie. It is definitely one of those movies that forces you to look at things going on in the world, and it's more unsettling because these are real things happening. Not this particular story, I mean, but the policies are real, and similar actions take place. Makes you wonder how many other Anwars there are out there, and that's a really unsettling thought. I'm always bothered by those sorts of thoughts, too - I am a pretty fair person, and try to get along with everyone (to give them a shot, at least). It unsettles me to read about, or watch about, people who get so violent and passionate, based on hatred, and the twisted actions that can come about. Like I said, it's a heavy movie.
The cast is great, and the parts are very well acted. Some have a bit more opportunity to develop than others (the Jake Gyllenhaal character wasn't given much opportunity, for example, and the character of Khalid had pretty simple motives for his actions), but overall, very solid characters.
I liked the multiple storylines. They were deftly handled, and had a nice twist at the end. I don't feel like there was tons of meaning to the twist (i.e. not really plot related, or anything; they didn't have to do it) but it was a nice touch to weaving all the stories together. I either really like multiple story lines (any Robert Altman film, Pulp Fiction, etc) or they really irritate me (Magnolia!!). This one was well done.
I liked the filming. It keeps you at a distance a little, not one of those movies that reeeeeeeally sucks you into all the characters. Lessens the emotion of it a little, I guess, but at the same time makes you think a little more. Pushes you into the part of the dispassionate observer, which makes you actually think about what all the characters are doing and why.
One of the most effective scenes of the whole movie was the bombing that sets off the whole chain of events. Instead of the noise and chaos of the aftermath of the explosion, you have a very quiet, almost silent scene. No sappy or overly emotional music, just quiet... Made for a very effective scene.
In case you're curious (as I was) the title "Rendition" refers to 'extraordinary rendition,' an extra-legal process where suspects are taken into US custody but delivered to a third-party state, often without ever being on American soil, and without involving the rendering country's judiciary body. It seemed to develop into its own during the Clinton administration, and has come into use more as a tool in the War on Terror. That's the summary from Wikipedia, at least; to really explain it would probably get into a doctoral-thesis length discussion.
As a side note, it seems Zach and I have been finding the movies with major torture scenes recently. Pulp Fiction, Rendition, The Bank Job... people can be pretty messed up sometimes... Gotta find a good comedy for our next new movie.
Overall: 4 of 5. Some of the characters are pretty flat, but the filming was good and the cast is great. Overall, a very solid movie. Worth a watch if you're looking for a good make-you-think sort of film. Definitely not a light popcorn flick!
No comments:
Post a Comment