Isabella (Reese Witherspoon) is married to a handsome chemical engineer named Anwar (Omar Metwally). Anwar is an Egyptian by birth but has lived in the United States since he was fourteen. The two of them, having met and married in college, have a young son named Jeremy and Isabella is expected their second child very soon. While in South Africa on business, Anwar telephones Isabella to give her the details of when his return flight is landing in Chicago. But, although Isabella and Jeremy go to the airport, Anwar never arrives. Tragically, Anwar's cell phone was mistakenly linked to a terrorist group and a top CIA official, Corrine Whitman (Meryl Streep) orders Anwar to be captured, hooded, and whisked away to a secret prison in North Africa. There, Abasi Fawal (Yigal Naor), a top police official, is put in charge of Anwar's interrogation and torture but is required to have a U.S. official present. That horrible task falls to Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal), a self-proclaimed pencil pusher, who is thrust into his "first torture" upon the bombing death of the usual CIA toughman. Douglas' orders come straight from Corrine who charges him to be ruthless. Yet, Douglas is greatly disturbed by both the severity of the torture and Anwar's protestations of innocence. Meanwhile, Isabella tries to enlist the help of an old college flame, Alan (Peter Sarsgaard), who works for Illinois senator Hawkins (Alan Arkin), to help discover the truth about her husband's disappearance. Will Izzy ever see her husband again? Then, too, Mr. Fawal, who rules his family with an iron fist, has a daughter, Fatima, who has run away from home, leaving no clues to her whereabouts. Will he be able to find her? This film, taken from today's headlines, is disturbing, to say the very least. The tragic practice of rendition was greatly increased after 9/11, when U.S. officials became obsessed with seizing suspected terrorists and taking them away from American soil for torture, where the U.S. laws do not apply. Of course, mistakes are made and innocent people are put through hell, with no hope of seeing daylight again. Then, too, the practice of torture is suspect, for studies show that victims will say just about anything to relieve their pain and thus "make up stories" of little value. In this light, it is a challenge to present a story that adequately conveys the true horrors of rendition yet, this film makes a valiant attempt to do so. As the main "stars", stellar actors Witherspoon and Gyllenhaal are good but, surprisingly, not great. Each of them give a performance that is more forced than genuine. To be fair, Witherspoon's role is rather small, leaving one to assume that some of her scenes were edited out. While she does have some touching moments, there are times when she appears dazed and defeated. Gyllenhaal, a very fine actor, is also too restrained, for his character should be explosive with anger over the torture of an innocent man, yet, he keeps himself in check. However, the rest of the cast is superlative. Streep, whose own progressive political views are widely known, chews up the screen with her role as the chilling, Dick-Cheney-in-high-heels CIA official. Sarsgaard and Arkin, too, are great as the sympathetic men who, nevertheless, know which way the winds of politics blow. But, most importantly, it is the Arabic cast members who strike the most compelling notes. Metwally is heartbreaking as the tortured innocent while Naor freezes the blood as the main interrogation officer. All of the other Arabic actors are also very fine. Costumes, scenery, and production values are topnotch. However, viewer be warned. This is a very difficult film, to watch and to stomach. While never excessive, the torture scenes are very real and very upsetting. Although the film has a mission and an admirable one, at that, one has to realize that it is not for everyone, especially those who are faint of heart. That said, the movie should be seen by all those who care about learning more about rendition. While not the definitive word on the practice, it has more than enough force to show the world how immoral and wicked this horrendous method of interrogation really is.
Rendition
(2007)
Renders the heart shattered, but may not be the ultimate statement on rendition itself
22 October 2007