Film Review: Rendition

On March 8^th 2007, last Saturday, the president of the United States of America vetoed a law that would ban the use of waterboarding, a gruesome practice of emulating drowning in those you wish to interrogate. It’s a practice that dates back to the Spanish Inquisition (see above.) His reasoning is that attacks have actually been prevented using this method. To Bush the ends justify the means.

Another of the long list of films I missed last year is Rendition, a film about an innocent victim of the type of torture our president just condoned Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally), who has the misfortune timing of being a scientist and Muslim, at the same time, in the “post 9/11 world,” is captured by the government. His wife, Isabella (Resse Witherspoon,) is pregnant and desperate to find her beloved. Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a government agent torn between doing what is expected of him and what is, forgive the over simplification, right. There are a whole host of other characters including a young couple in love in the Middle East and Corrine Williams, a vicious beast of a character in charge of torture who believes in what she is doing. Corrine is played to near perfection by Meryl Strep (shocking, no?)

What is compelling about the story is Isabella’s fighting against the yellow tape to save her husband. What is not compelling about this story is the out of place love story between the two young lovers in the Middle East. It seemed to be a pleasant story and it does lead to a powerful conclusion. Actually on second thought I loved their story, but what I don’t like is the way it is actually written. And frankly I don’t like the way much of the film is written.

I like the ideas of the film. I like the directing in the film and I liked incredible acting on the parts of basically the entire cast. I think my only fault is with the screenplay. There are plot holes and there are too many stories at play here. What is compelling about this film is not so much the political implications of the film but instead their emotional draw. Though it would and should be impossible to ignore the political implications.

I think that most of all the film serves what would seem to be its basic purpose, calling attention to the atrocities that are committed in the name of our “safety.” I don’t care what political persuasion you may have, this film will make you stop and make you consider your government and your role in what your government does. I think the single most important argument the film makes against torture is that torturing people leads to a perception about our society that we are violent (well even more so) that also provokes violence. Therefore by condoning torturing we do less to fight terrorism than we do to promote it. Holding people as political prisoners for years without every once allowing them to have their day in court. Taking innocent people from within every part of our society because they happen to meet a certain profile. And then having the gall to support torture and then do all this stuff in MY NAME. That is what this film calls attention to. And while the film itself is not really so great, it does deserve credit as a necessary wake-up call. The sad truth is that the film is probably preaching to the choir. If you consider yourself to be among the crowd of political apathetics this films deserves your attention.