In the wake of Sept. 11 and the war in Iraq, political thrillers are nothing new. But Rendition, directed by Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) and starring Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal, is less of a thriller and more of a Hollywood-inspired political forum. Unfortunately, the format isn’t too successful, and the film suffers because of it.
The story focuses on many different characters, but begins with Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi (Witherspoon, Walk the Line) and her Egyptian-born husband, Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally, Munich). The two are happily married until Anwar is detained after a trip to South Africa, where he is shallowly linked to a terrorist bombing.
After some detective work, Isabella learns authorities erased her husband’s identity from the airline’s passenger list, and puts two and two together to realize her husband has been detained and is now being tortured by the government. In a quest to release her husband, Isabella tangles with political figures Corrine Whitman (Meryl Streep, Evening) and Sen. Hawkins (Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine), who think nothing of torturing a man who may be innocent.
Meanwhile, detective Douglas Freeman (Gyllenhaal, Zodiac) is an officer on his first interrogation whose victim happens to be Anwar, the questionable captive taken from the airport. But as Freeman and Isabella begin to interact, the character’s sense of morality rears its head when his dangerously cold superiors order him to perform unthinkable acts.
Most movies with a political purpose keep their agenda hidden (for example, most people don’t know that Happy Feet, at its adorable heart, was a stab at global warming). But Rendition has no qualms with making its views on torture perfectly clear, and if you didn’t already know them, filmmakers drive the point home with a preachy monologue from Freeman about why torture is wrong.
Despite this obvious political leaning, Rendition’s stellar cast – namely Gyllenhaal and Streep – and its engaging story will keep a viewer guessing until the film’s dramatic and heart-wrenching climax.
Rendition is not the quintessential film about unethical methods of torture (the Saw series holds that particular title), but the film’s strong story and star power support its thought-provoking premise. But with a society so detached from the war in Iraq – and three years after the atrocities of Abu Ghraib – Rendition is nowhere near as shocking and moving as it could be.
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