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Rendition (DVD, 2008)
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Tense political thriller spanning two continents.
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In the crop of war-against-terror films which arrived this year, Rendition is among the more thoughtful and thought-provoking. Yet the sub-plot, which involves a terrorist plot against a Morrocan hard-line policeman, is in many ways more powerful and more successful than the main theme of the movie. The overall gist is that after a bombing abroad, dubious intelligence points to an Egyptian technical adviser who lives and works from the USA. The CIA, desperate to hunt down the culprits, have no legal reason to hold and question him -- so they do it ilegally. He's snatched at an airport and spirited away to Morrocco where he can be 'questioned' without limits. His pregnant wife, a US citizen, goes predictably batty trying to find him. Meryl Streep plays a hard-faced CIA top-dog who authorises the action, and Jake Gyllenhaal is the inexperienced CIA field man who has to oversee the torture of a suspect who may well be completely innocent. The other plot is more interesting -- it's about the Morroccan police chief interrogator and his daughter. He's battling to control extremism yet is firmly committed to some Islamic principles. She's young and headstrong, has fallen in love and doesn't want an arranged marriage. Their conflict escalates and they become embroiled in local jihadi action. Meanwhile, the action back in the USA seems less credible. The squeaking pregnant wife manages to upset everyone and gets stone-walled at every turn. The CIA boss believes she is taking the action necessary to protect American lives. These characters feel too stereotyped to evoke much sympathy; in effect they are cardboard cut-outs of the arguments they represent. In the end, it's the Morroccan storyline which grabs the attention. Will Jake G's character do the right thing? What happens to the daughter? Did the Egyptian suspect really have contact with terrorists, or not? Rendition raises all manner of difficult questions, and it certainly doesn't resolve them. It succeeds in provoking debate on the subject (is it ever correct to do the wrong thing for the right reasons?), and it has a few twists and turns and scenes that will startle and shock. It's easier to understand and engage with than Syriana, but if you prefer more action in your movies then you should probably try The Kingdom first. I nearly didn't watch Rendition because I felt it might be dull, lecturing or just too horrible. It was none of those things, and I came away excited by the film and provoked by the subject matter. It doesn't hit you in the gut; it's not an emotional or visceral film. It's one which sets up echos in the mimd, more like. Definitely worth gettingRead full review
'Extraordinary Rendition' takes a brave but flawed look at the moral issues of the use of torture condoned by the US military in their 'war' against terrorism. One gets a sense of Hollywood liberal conscience feeling obliged to tackle a very fraught subject troubling the 'American Dream' or nightmare, depending on ones point of view, and one must applaud them for trying. From a movie point of view, ER follows a well trodden dramatic story about an innocent man held captive and tortured by a nameless foreign government with the approval of the US military headed by a scary CIA director played by Meryl Streep who has has carved out a well deserved niche role for herself playing villains. To balance the iniquity of it, her agent, who is sent to oversee the torture (there are scenes of 'waterboarding', goes against Streep and contrives to help the man escape. That is the weakness of the film. The innocent Egyptian victim plays a secondary role in the drama, the important message being not all CIA agents are bad. However, in this case the agent, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, was quite happy to allow the torture to carry on, until he was convinced of the man's innocence. Reese Witherspoon plays a minor role as the man's pregnant wife trying desperately to find out what has happened to her husband. Witherspoon is a versatile actress, but thier is a hint of uneasiness in the way she plays her part, as though uncomfortable with the issue's it raises, yet wishing to be associated with them as a representative of the left in the Hollywood political spectrum. As with so many important films of this type, Mississippi Burning, Midnight Express, comes to mind, it raises more questions than it answers, but if it increases subscriptions to Amnesty International, or raises awareness of the inhumanity perpetrated behind the scenes on our behalf, it can only be applauded and worth watching. Recommended for the issues it raises as well as its entertainment value.Read full review
Enthralling thriller based on the controversial American foreign policy of "extraordinary rendition" under which terrorist suspects are snatched and whisked away to foreign countries where they may be tortured and terrorised. Reese Witherspoon, in yet another terrific performance from this young actress, plays a young, pregnant wife whose husband vanishes. Jake Gyllenhaal is a CIA official who has a crisis of consience over the case and there are excellent performances, too, from Meryl Streep as a government official with ice in her veins, Peter Sarsgaard and veteran Alan Arkin.
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