Political dramas are all the rage in Hollywood this fall, but whether people are willing to go see them is the question. Similar to the critically acclaimed films “Crash” and “Babel,” “Rendition” tries to duplicate the balance of multiple storylines at once, but the message does not hold together as the many different political viewpoints and characters’ perspectives become watered down and lose focus.
While films critical of government abuses are important, they must also be entertaining and understandable to be successful. “Rendition” has trouble with this throughout.
A terrorist bombing in Northern Africa has killed an American diplomat, and a government bureaucrat, Corrine Whitman (Meryl Streep, “The Devil Wears Prada“), reacts to the news by green-lighting an operation to black bag a man they believe to be involved and take him outside the country, where more “intensive” interrogation methods may be used.
That man is Anwar El-Ibrahimi, a businessman of Egyptian descent who is returning home to the U.S. after traveling oversees. His wife, Isabella (Reese Witherspoon, “Walk the Line”), is left waiting at the airport with their son and no information about where her husband has gone. Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal, “Jarhead”) is an agent who must take over the dead diplomat’s position, an American liaison to the foreigners who will be torturing Anwar for information.
It really pulls at your heartstrings to watch what Anwar must go through, trying to convince the men who are holding him that he is innocent. You learn what water-boarding looks like, as well as other enhanced interrogation techniques allegedly used by government agents. Watching Gyllenhaal’s performance as his character witnesses the torture tells you all you need to know about the correctness of the techniques.
Witherspoon is determined in her role as the pregnant wife who is searching for answers to her husband’s disappearance. She has a connection in a U.S. senator’s office, and watching her jump through hoops to find someone to help her feels sadly accurate. These storylines resonate and form the core of the film, which works on a cerebral and emotional level.
Where the director, Gavin Hood (“Totsi”), gets waylaid is including the storyline about a family in the Middle East whose daughter has gotten involved with a man that may have terrorist connections. While seeing the terrorist threat firsthand was intended to counterbalance the claims of civil liberties and human rights violations raised in the film, it distracts from Anwar’s story while adding an unnecessary layer to the film. Meryl Streep’s brilliant performance as a callous yet patriotic bureaucrat proves to be the perfect voice for the justifications of America’s policies.
“Rendition” is commendable because of the issues it raises, but it is unlikely to be the most polished or well-presented film about the war on terror.
Rated R for torture, violence and language.
