This compelling post 9/11 political thriller kinda work. It was thought-provoking, timely and somewhat intelligent, but there are some parts, that could need some work.

ironhorse_iv

Ever since, the terrorist attacks on 9/11. There has been several increase security measures taken to protect the United States and its citizens. Among them, is the Patriot Act; which allows the US Government some unprecedented powers to gather intelligence and pursue any form of terrorist. Sometimes, the Intel is un-liable. Somethings, the person, you find, isn't the person that commit the crime. Rendition tells the horrific story of what happens when an innocent man like Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) is unjustly accused of a terrorist attack. Then forced into 'enhanced interrogation' by his accusers. Can a man like this, be able to prove his guilt or will guilty by circumstance spell the end of him? Watch the movie directed by Gavin Hood to find out! Without spoiling the movie too much. I found the over-simplified drama trying too hard to prove that torture doesn't work. Don't get me wrong, I hate torture, it's cold-hearted and immoral, but could the threat of torture, be a justified method in saving lives? Somewhat. There has been accounts that some interrogations have produce some reliably useful and accurate information. See the case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for more information. To deny that torture doesn't work, at all, is a bit hypocritical. Experience tells us that when faced with serious threats to one's life, one person might take whatever measures it deems necessary to abate the worst. I get the fact that some terrorists are very unlike to talk, due to their strongly held beliefs. Even if they do, you can't be sure, that you're getting the right information. I get that, but if you had the choice of trying to save 10,000 innocent people over morality. One might say, that the morality might have to take a day off. All, I'm saying is the movie should be aware of this and shouldn't preachy their viewpoints on people. It should allow the viewers to judge more. Don't get me wrong, the movie does try to do it, at one time, but I guess, they dropped ball. The film's director, Gavin Hood, stated that the lack of explanation on the phone call, made from the bomber to Anwar was deliberate cut, so as to create ambiguity about whether Anwar was guilty or innocent, and to let the viewer decide whether this ambiguity warranted torture. The only bad thing, about this, is the fact, the movie painted him, already innocent, from the beginning, so it really hard to believe in that ambiguity. It made for very sloppy writing. Another problem with the film, how broad and cheesy, the fiction was. I hate the fact, the movie is set in some unidentified North African city, rather than some realistic place. You never truly, get why there is a threat of jihadist, or how extraordinary rendition is even possible, there, because how the film treats those information as if it wasn't important. Another problem is how cheesy the metaphorically American names are; mainly the main heroic character, who happens to named Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) and the supposedly made villain, Corrine Whitman (Meryl Streep) that sounds like White-Man. Honestly, I wish, they made more use of the source material. The movie is supposedly based on the true story case of Khalid El-Masri, an innocent man mistaken for a terrorist, but both stories rarely have anything similar. The movie has more similarities to the case of Maher Arar, another man mistaken for a terrorist than Khalid El-Masri. In my opinion, the movie should be label, as inspired by true events, rather than based on true events. This abduction thriller does have some good things about it. I love, the secondary story about an impressionable boy, Khalid (Moa Khouas) who more or less inadvertently is manipulated into becoming a terrorist cell. I love, how great, the majority of the acting was. Even, the supporting character were very good, at their parts. Mad props go to Igal Naor. His acting really does shine in this film. I also love, how beautiful, the background music was. Composer Paul Hepker & Mark Kilian really did a good job in the film score. While, the movie does have some disturbing scenes. It wasn't that hard to get through. There were some slow pacing parts, and some scenes can be a bit boring, but the majority of the film was pretty engaging. Overall: While, I agree with Mr. William Shakespeare & Gavin Hood's statement, about torture. This well-executed tale that falls short of completely working only because it refuses to acknowledge the potential ambiguity of its subject matter. I do recommended watching, but the movie could had been so much better. At least, it's better than its carbon-copy film, 2007's Extraordinary Rendition by Jim Threapleton. That movie wasn't that good.

score 7/10

ironhorse_iv 30 August 2015

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3307832/