Rendition (D- or .5/4 stars)
Extreme Rendition: refers to the American policy of shipping detainees to prison(s) NOT on U.S. soil so they're not subject to due process & can be tortured as a means to pry information. With this definition you know that the subject matter of 'Rendition', a drama directed by Gavin Hood, is highly controversial. A CIA analyst (Jake Gyllenhaal) questions his overseas assignment after witnessing a torturous interrogation of a seemingly innocent man at a secret detention facility in North Africa. Aside from it looking good onscreen, there's little-to-nothing that is redeeming about this incredibly boring movie.
In South Africa, Egyptian-American Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) boards a plane that will take him home to Chicago to be with his pregnant wife, Isabella (a dreary Reese Witherspoon), & his son. Meanwhile, in North Africa, Douglas Freeman (Gyllenhaal) is involved in investigations surrounding a terrorist bombing that has killed his partner. Over in Washington, CIA official Corrine Whitman (Meryl Streep) gains intelligence that Anwar received a phone call from the terrorist responsible for the attack. It is she who secretly orders the 'rendition' on Anwar. After landing on home soil, he is detained & shipped to N. Africa for torture. Douglas is present to oversee the 'interrogation' & report back to Corrine. He thinks Anwar is innocent, but she maintains the torture 'til he confesses.
Is Anwar innocent? Who really bombed the town square? Could it possibly be the 1 of/or 2 milquetoast Islamic characters that we observe in an awkward side plot (which slowed the film down more than it already was)? How are they tied-in to the torture plot? You know, it's like this director tried to pull a 21 Grams, a Crash, a Babel over us (with interlocking characters/plots/time frames); he fails miserably. Honestly, after an hour of this sludgy film, it's hard to care either way. Moving on, I understand that Douglas is supposed to be 'our' conscious as we watch the film; we're supposed to somewhat relate to him. That's quite difficult when he catatonically watches the torture take place (knowing it's wrong), waltz home to inwardly loath himself, & then release that mental anguish by slipping his tongue down his African girlfriend's throat. I just found Gyllenhaal's performance here to be very unrealistic & a true detriment.
Also unrealistic, and even gratuitous: how about a 9 month pregnant Isabella traipsing through Washington D.C., BY HERSELF, desperately trying to find answers from gov't officials as to the whereabouts of her husband! But what I hated most was the sentimentally scripted last scene. SPOILER ALERT: Yeah, once Anwar returns home, I could just see him, his son, & his wife having virtually NO verbal and/or physical reaction other than droopy-eyed wonder, furrowed eyebrows, & slow-walking relief that he (husband & father) has returned home to safety. Wouldn't you think they'd all be bursting into tears, running for each other, embracing or even falling to the ground with a huge release of anger, frustration, & exhaustion? This just capped the unpleasant experience for me. END.
Peter Sarsgaard does the best he can do (with this screenplay) to help Witherspoon's character. Alan Arkin is decent as an ambivalent U.S. Senator. Meryl is decent as the heartless CIA official, but she only displays one emotion through the entire film. Aside from these undercooked performances, the film is just dreadful. I get the point: Should we torture human beings, at all? It's our right to take responsibility for what we think may be wrong, etc. This film's topic, and its' execution are too heavy. The climax of 'Rendition' reveals a plot device (chronology) which doesn't fit with the rest of the film. Some scenes are cut way too short. Some are too lengthy, too languid (where nothing occurs, no added emotion tacked on). I'm going to take deep breaths, count to 10, & just end this review here.
In South Africa, Egyptian-American Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) boards a plane that will take him home to Chicago to be with his pregnant wife, Isabella (a dreary Reese Witherspoon), & his son. Meanwhile, in North Africa, Douglas Freeman (Gyllenhaal) is involved in investigations surrounding a terrorist bombing that has killed his partner. Over in Washington, CIA official Corrine Whitman (Meryl Streep) gains intelligence that Anwar received a phone call from the terrorist responsible for the attack. It is she who secretly orders the 'rendition' on Anwar. After landing on home soil, he is detained & shipped to N. Africa for torture. Douglas is present to oversee the 'interrogation' & report back to Corrine. He thinks Anwar is innocent, but she maintains the torture 'til he confesses.
Is Anwar innocent? Who really bombed the town square? Could it possibly be the 1 of/or 2 milquetoast Islamic characters that we observe in an awkward side plot (which slowed the film down more than it already was)? How are they tied-in to the torture plot? You know, it's like this director tried to pull a 21 Grams, a Crash, a Babel over us (with interlocking characters/plots/time frames); he fails miserably. Honestly, after an hour of this sludgy film, it's hard to care either way. Moving on, I understand that Douglas is supposed to be 'our' conscious as we watch the film; we're supposed to somewhat relate to him. That's quite difficult when he catatonically watches the torture take place (knowing it's wrong), waltz home to inwardly loath himself, & then release that mental anguish by slipping his tongue down his African girlfriend's throat. I just found Gyllenhaal's performance here to be very unrealistic & a true detriment.
Also unrealistic, and even gratuitous: how about a 9 month pregnant Isabella traipsing through Washington D.C., BY HERSELF, desperately trying to find answers from gov't officials as to the whereabouts of her husband! But what I hated most was the sentimentally scripted last scene. SPOILER ALERT: Yeah, once Anwar returns home, I could just see him, his son, & his wife having virtually NO verbal and/or physical reaction other than droopy-eyed wonder, furrowed eyebrows, & slow-walking relief that he (husband & father) has returned home to safety. Wouldn't you think they'd all be bursting into tears, running for each other, embracing or even falling to the ground with a huge release of anger, frustration, & exhaustion? This just capped the unpleasant experience for me. END.
Peter Sarsgaard does the best he can do (with this screenplay) to help Witherspoon's character. Alan Arkin is decent as an ambivalent U.S. Senator. Meryl is decent as the heartless CIA official, but she only displays one emotion through the entire film. Aside from these undercooked performances, the film is just dreadful. I get the point: Should we torture human beings, at all? It's our right to take responsibility for what we think may be wrong, etc. This film's topic, and its' execution are too heavy. The climax of 'Rendition' reveals a plot device (chronology) which doesn't fit with the rest of the film. Some scenes are cut way too short. Some are too lengthy, too languid (where nothing occurs, no added emotion tacked on). I'm going to take deep breaths, count to 10, & just end this review here.