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Rendition (2007)

Director: Gavin Hood

Time Out rating

Average user rating

25 reviews

Synopsis

Spanning two continents, Rendition’s tense drama begins when an Egyptian terrorism suspect (Omar Metwalley) "disappears" on a flight from Africa to Washington. His pregnant American wife (Reese Witherspoon) embarks on a desperate mission to track him down and discover the reason for his vanishing act. A politically-connected friend (Peter Sarsgaard) uncovers the fact that her husband has been shipped off to a secret detention facility outside the US, where a CIA analyst (Jake Gyllenhaal) is suddenly forced to question his assignment as he becomes party to the man’s a brutal interrogation by secret North African police.

Movie review

From Time Out London

When an Egyptian-born, US-resident chemical engineer is spirited away by the CIA, the ramifications are varied. The prisoner (Omar Metwally) finds himself subjected to seriously enhanced questioning. His North African interrogator (Igar Naor) knows these ‘anti-terrorist’ tactics stir up the Islamic fundamentalists in his own (unnamed) state. The CIA observer (Jake Gyllenhaal), exposed to torture for the first time, has twinges of conscience, though back in Washington, his political master (Meryl Streep) experiences no such doubts, even when button-holed by a researcher (Peter Sarsgaard) helping the hostage’s distraught pregnant spouse (Reese Witherspoon). Although Kelley Sane’s screenplay never hides its liberal sympathies, all these shades of argument around the issue of ‘rendition’ get an airing, together with a telling reminder that this dubious practice was actually initiated under the Clinton administration.

So far, so impeccable, yet giving everyone their due means there’s a lot to pack in, resulting in characters which are often mere sketches and pacing which struggles to maintain momentum as we cut hither and yon. The settings are convincing, individual sequences striking (especially when Streep delivers another dragon-lady special), yet the whole is somehow less than the sum of its parts. Director Gavin Hood, the South African graduating from the biting, modest ‘Tsotsi’ to this highly resourced Hollywood production, started his career as a lawyer and is obviously aiming for balanced lucidity. But by underplaying the brutalities of interrogation, for instance, he actually drains much of the anger from the movie, and by the time the script’s contrived connections finally snap together, our interest has become slightly academic. A worthwhile but somewhat underwhelming effort, perhaps too level-headed for its own good.

Author: Trevor Johnston 2007-10-16 10:47:29

Time Out London Issue 1939: October 17-23 2007

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User reviews of this film

marky said...

Posted on Jun 21 2008 03:32 i give it two stars. a dumb story, but it was well told and aside from jake g, it was well-acted. the political agenda is absurd- as much as the director and actors may want me to feel sorry for suicide bombers and their cause, i do not. how in the heck can there be proof of three calls from a terrorist and then the director/writers fail to address this? is that supposed to be reasonable doubt? big, gaping hole in the script, which i'm sure the smug bstards did intentionally because they couldn't explain it away- which is very, very lazy writing.

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kate said...

Posted on Jun 09 2008 07:27 this film is terrible, what a bland load of codswollop, its stuck between fact and fiction and isnt bold enough to fully develop in either direction, the CIA agent who releases the prisoner without authority and risks his livelihood and freedom to do so is just a farce- if there were many people like these working in the agencies there wouldnt be so much injustice- since when has justice been meeted out so swiftly and efficiently- pure balony, and what happened in the time shift- was it going forward or backward- by the time i had thought this through the film had abruptly finished- probably burnt itself out trying to be a thriller when it was just a bland story with a few gory shots about torture- thankfully we didnt get to see what it really would look like- grown men going to the toilet on the floor through fear and all that- thank goodness it was made palatable enough for our naive minds.

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CJ said...

Posted on Dec 01 2007 18:50 Thought provoking, gripping, gritty, although not exactly light entertainment. The plot and flash backs are a little confusing. It borders on US anti-Islamic propaganda. Brits are skillfully brought into the conflict by Meryl Streep's tactical comment about bomb attacks in London. Good stuff though. Recommended.

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Eternity said...

Posted on Nov 16 2007 15:10 An excellent, heart-breaking film.

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Jan said...

Posted on Nov 14 2007 14:02 A really good film - saw it with my daughter (age 17) by accident really - the film we wanted to see wasn't on. We both enjoyed it - gives an insight into something we knew nothing about and kept our interest throught.

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Sutton said...

Posted on Nov 12 2007 13:39 An enjoyable enough movie, though a tad slow in places. Something was definitely missing to make it a great film. I was left wondering if Jake was a little one dimensional, particularly when set against Meryl Streep, who was very good.

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Les said...

Posted on Nov 11 2007 13:34 Great film, really gets you to think about the lives of all parties involved.

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Isaac said...

Posted on Nov 11 2007 10:59 Thought provoking film regarding issues we face today from both sides a move in the right direction.....

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Eleni xx said...

Posted on Nov 10 2007 12:57 i went with sum mates to see this film and all of them were confused!! i actually thought it was ok and really dramatic. I think there were too many story lines in just one film which made it really confusing. Overall i thought it was ok.

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Peter Masters said...

Posted on Nov 09 2007 20:26 Rendition is the kind of film we begin rooting for to succeed because it speaks to us of urgent, current issues we read about and see discussed on 60 Minutes or Night Line: extraordinary rendition, the practice of shipping a suspected terrorist to another country for torture. However, after the film sets up circumstance (innocent man taken prisoner), the script fails to rise to the occasion and we are left with only a tepid sense of outrage and two terrific performances by Meryl Streep and Alan Arkin.

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Ruby said...

Posted on Nov 07 2007 21:31 This is a really good film. The torture scenes were not overplayed, but the fear of the tortured man was palpable. Interesting issues were explored but not laboured. Really well balanced

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critique said...

Posted on Nov 07 2007 11:32 What is it with these people bemoaning the lack of "action"? If you want "action", go see an "action" movie. Rendition is intelligent, moving and thought-provoking.

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calvin reid said...

Posted on Nov 06 2007 13:22 i think that it was a high budget film.. not alot of action..

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smithi said...

Posted on Nov 06 2007 00:42 The Timeout reviewer nearly put me off but they are usually crap shooters. Go and see for yourself. I think it was gripping enough without being too indulgent in scenes of torture. One thing's for sure these issues of how to get information for suspected 'terrorists' and the West's complex relationship with Islamic fundamentalism is not going to easliy dealt with in one film, but it was a start and one worth making the effort of going to see. Chilling from all sides of the equation , but not without hope in the fundamental decency of some individuals!

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beethoven said...

Posted on Nov 04 2007 21:00 not as good as another film with similar theme coming out later this year called . . 'extraordinary rendition' This independent low budget film, starring Andy Serkis and produced by Andy Noble, explores the types of torture and interrogation used as part of the illegal process that is . . 'extraordinary rendition'.

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