Rendition
When a man mysteriously Vanishes from an overseas flight, his disappearance sends shockwaves all the way to the nation's capitol. Desperate for the truth, his wide begins a search for the missing man which leads a CIA unit head and a novice agent into a international web of deceit, conspiracies and top secret truths far more frightening than the lies that conceal them. "An intelligent thriller with intrigue, smarts and a great cast" Rendition stars Jack Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Alan Arkin and Meryl Steep.
Member Reviews
Intrigued - MariaRamsay
I don't agree with @rnhaas that the torturers needed to be "de-otherized". I think that's exactly what the movie was trying to bring out but in a very subtle way.
I liked the movie's non-linear thread and how the Egyptian torturer, working for the Americans, ends up having to face up to the terrorism right in his own back yard, affecting his family.
I found the movie intriguing and had to watch it twice. You have to be in the mood but it's very good and worth paying attention to. The score is also hauntingly apt.Very Good Movie - stj64
When an Egyptian terrorism suspect "disappears" on a flight from Africa to Washington DC, he is taken outside the USA in order to be interrogated and tortured. His American wife (played by Reese Witherspoon) struggles to find out his whereabouts and set him free. A CIA analyst is sent to watch the interrogation and is conflicted by the methods.
I thought that this was a very good political intrigue film. However, for those that are faint of heart, there are some extreme torture scenes.
As for the performances, I never get tired of watching Meryl Streep perform. Although she plays a small supporting role in this movie, her performance as the cold hearted Corrine Whitman, head of U.S. intelligence, as usual, is excellent.Sanitized - rnhaas
This is well made in the sense that it is well-directed and the acting is fine. However, the writer completely misses the point. Completely. The filmmakers should have watched Ken Loach's “Hidden Agenda” or Costa-Gavras' “Missing” to see how to properly tell a story like this. This is the sanitized Hollywood version. In it, the abductee's wife is white, pretty and pregnant. In it a CIA analyst gets to play hero. In it, the torturers are still virtually completely the “other,” in this case Arabs. There is a clear bad “guy,” and a clear eventual hero. This is not the way this works, as we well know in Canada, where our citizens have also been subject to such US practices. The way to really make this movie is to make rendition a mystery. Most people wouldn't have known what it referred to at the time. The torturers need to be de-otherized, i.e., they need to be like regular people, because in real life they are regular people. The attempt to humanize the Egyptian only half-succeeds partly because it introduces a story-arc that isn't necessary (except to provide a coincidence to make the heroic act possible). This film could have been much, much better.
Member Reviews
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Intrigued - MariaRamsay
I don't agree with @rnhaas that the torturers needed to be "de-otherized". I think that's exactly what the movie was trying to bring out but in a very subtle way.
I liked the movie's non-linear thread and how the Egyptian torturer, working for the Americans, ...Very Good Movie - stj64
When an Egyptian terrorism suspect "disappears" on a flight from Africa to Washington DC, he is taken outside the USA in order to be interrogated and tortured. His American wife (played by Reese Witherspoon) struggles to find out his whereabouts and set him ...Sanitized - rnhaas
This is well made in the sense that it is well-directed and the acting is fine. However, the writer completely misses the point. Completely. The filmmakers should have watched Ken Loach's “Hidden Agenda” or Costa-Gavras' “Missing” to see how to properly ...