Rendition **1/2

2007
Seen on DVD
Screenwriter - Kelley Sane
Director - Gavin Hood
With: Omar Metwally, Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon,
Peter Sarsgaard, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin



This is a mostly well done film about rendition. - the practice of the U.S. government to take suspected terrorists to foreign countries because torture is not permitted in this country. There is some fine acting and some fairly big names.



The film has several story lines. There is a CIA agent who has to oversee the torture and of course there is the Egyptian-American who is being tortured. The agent is a bit"green" and is conflicted by what he sees (as well as the viewer, which I liked about this film). The victim is married to Reese Witherspoon's character, which shows how 'American' he is. Reese Witherspoon tries to find out what is happening, since the suspect is not allowed any phone calls. Apparently, the government has some phone records which show that the suspect's cell had been in contact with a known terrorist. At first he denies any knowledge of the phone calls and claims the information is mistaken. Then under duress, he "confesses". The film keeps the viewer wondering for a relatively long time what the truth of the matter is.



There is another subplot about a young man and his girlfriend. The young man is drawn to the radical Jihadist movement by past tragedy in his life. This line of narrative is criticised by the Reader as being unnecessary, though it does serve to tie in most of the characters. I tend to agree with the Reader, but I did like how this subplot messes with the narrative and ends up being sort of a twist which kept me off guard somewhat.



This is a well done political thriller, with nary a complaint against it. There's not much to say about it really.