Rendition (2007)
122 minutes
Rated – R
Directed by Gavin Hood
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Omar Metwally, Meryl Streep
Grade: C+
I cannot argue that Rendition isn’t an important film to be made with its very strong political message and eye-opener for those who aren’t aware of what “extraordinary rendition” is. But its storytelling mechanics and script makes this potentially gripping and tragic film a flawed and an ineffective one.
We first see Egyptian-born Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Metwally) boarding a flight home from South Africa before being taken from the plane by the CIA on suspicion that he’s either a terrorist or has information about a terrorist group. He’s happily married to his wife, Isabella (Witherspoon) and they have a young son and another baby coming very soon. But once Anwar’s disappearance becomes noticed by Isabella, she becomes frantic to find out what happened to him.
Meanwhile, we meet Douglas Freeman (Gyllenhaal) who’s new in the CIA. After traveling through a crowded town in what seemed to be an Arab country, a suicide bomber goes off right in the middle of traffic and kills several people, including his boss. So he’s left with the responsibility of what his boss did, which is to supervise a man named Abasi who is a professional torturer.
So guess what’s next… ah yes the two stories intertwine. It’s Douglas’ job to get oversee the torture and get information from the captive and relay it to the head of U.S. intelligence (Streep). And so the person Abasi tortures for information is the recently attained Anwar.
I feel if they kept going back and forth between these two stories it could’ve been less of a mess than the final product, but they didn’t. Instead, there’s a third storyline that includes Abasi’s rebellious daughter, Fatima, who has run away with a fellow student not approved by her family.
Overall, the film might be slow for some, confusing for others, but for most it’ll seem to be pushing a message that’s already known: torture is bad. But that’s not the precise theme that Gavin Hood was trying to establish. It’s the idea that the United States authorizes torture and dances their way around technicalities saying “the U.S. does not torture” on the basis that it’s not done domestically and is commanded by other countries’ leaders, yet supervised by us. Unfortunately, aside from the political theme there’s really not much of a story. And although the film showcases a handful of talented actors, the script does little to truly let them dive into their characters and perform up to their ability.
Amongst a sea of political films in 2007, this would be in the middle of my list to see. But its poor box office totals proves how America is getting tired of the surplus of war/political movies. That is unfortunate because there are plenty that are definite worth watching. As for Rendition, I’d say it’s worth watching but don’t expect too much.
Posted by Rob Eng 
Posted by Rob Eng 
