Rendition

Release date: October 19, 2007
Directed by: Gavin Hood
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter Sarsgaard

Since 9/11, the CIA has been granted the right of "extraordinary rendition," which basically permits them to transport suspected terrorists to foreign locations and torture them. In an attempt to comment on the U.S.' denial of such practices, Rendition produces a convoluted snapshot of the issue.

When a terrorist attack kills an American overseas, Egyptian-born chemical engineer Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) is tagged as the lead suspect. On a return flight from South Africa, El-Ibrahimi is detained, and the head of the CIA's rendition unit, Corrine Whitman (Streep) orders that he be sent on a plane to a nameless North African location for "questioning." When he fails to show at the airport, his American wife Isabella (Witherspoon) travels to Washington to seek the aid of her friend (Sarsgaard) who works for a high powered U.S. Senator (Alan Arkin). In North Africa, CIA analyst, Douglas Freeman (Gyllenhaal) is left with the responsibility of overseeing the terrorist interrogation.

South African director Gavin Hood does a decent job. There is so much going on in this film that at times each plotline feels under-developed. For instance, when Isabella, fed up with getting the run-around in Washington, confronts Whitman about her husband's disappearance, you expecting a riveting fight, but instead get an anticlimactic spatter that goes nowhere. Also, Gyllenhaal's character seems to be in a perpetual state of conflict, but you're never quite sure what the core of his frustration is.

Metwally's gut-wrenching performance as a man being tortured contains a palpable realism that provides the film's standout performance. Also, Rendition deserves some credit for attempting to explain why Islamic martyrdom groups do what they do by humanizing the Muslims in the film. Sure, you might find these characters to be either archetypal "terrorist" types, or Westernized versions of their Islamic selves, but nonetheless the effort was made.

Tackling a complex issue like this is no easy task. The United States is still torn about it. As such, this film is to be applauded for at least asking the question: Is it OK to torture suspected terrorists when it's for a greater good? Ultimately, a politically-charged drama should make you think, and Rendition does just that.