Immediately after the attacks of 9/11, I'd guess that a majority of Americans (and maybe even many more than that) would have granted the U.S. permission to do whatever it took to bring the terrorists to justice or simply kill as many as possible. Over time, however, and as cooler heads prevailed, that "anything goes" response lessened for some.
That was particularly true in light of news about civil liberty violations, expansion of potential government intrusion, the realities of torture, and the possibility that any or all of the above could be done to an innocent person caught up in the system.
Considering the war on terror is far from over, the debate over whether the good of the many outweighs the good for the few will probably wage on for the foreseeable future. Not surprisingly, Hollywood has latched onto the moral dilemma, and it's what fuels the drama, "Rendition."
Named for the law that allows U.S. government officials to take suspected terrorists to locations out of the country for interrogation without any sort of due legal justice (which was signed into order by President Clinton and then expanded upon by the Bush administration post 9/11), the film plays off the old movie notion of the wronged man and efforts by him and others to clear his name.
Here, an Egyptian born chemical engineer (Omar Metwally) is suspected of being involved with a recent bombing in North Africa that appeared to be targeting a local official (Igal Naor) who works with the U.S. in beating the truth out of suspects. Being the closest agent on the spot, CIA analyst (Jake Gyllenhaal) -- who lost a comrade in the attack -- is ordered to supervise the tortuous interrogation.
Being green to such measures, he begins to second-guess what's occurring, but a CIA director (a steely Meryl Streep) tells everyone that the U.S. government does not torture its prisoners, not that she'll confirm that they even have the man who's lived in America for years.
His very pregnant wife (Reese Witherspoon) is understandably concerned when he somehow disappears in mid-flight, and thus goes to her former boyfriend (Peter Sarsgaard), a current employee of a U.S. Senator (Alan Arkin) to look for help. But the staffer runs into a brick wall, all because half way around the world, a young man (Moa Khouas) is preparing to do his part for the terrorists, all while secretly dating the daughter (Zineb Oukach) of the head torturer.
Accordingly, director Gavin Hood (who won an Oscar for helming the 2005 Best Foreign Language pic "Tsotsi") has quite a juggling act he must balance, what with the many characters and separate but obviously ultimately related storylines penned by Kelley Sane. Yet, while the film never has the chance to be boring, it never quite gels into the superlative, timely, and important message film that it yearns to be.
Some of that's obviously due to the limited screen time each part receives in this 2 hour or so offering, and the fact that it obviously must constantly switch back and forth between those various stories. As a result, everything and everyone feels shortchanged to some degree (more than others), and thus we don't really connect with any or all of them as much as we should.
Of course, and by default from the setup, we do experience some superficial connections. Who wouldn't feel sorry for the very pregnant wife desperately trying to find out what happened to her husband, or wince at watching torture, but then potentially get swept up in such action that participation naturally results (which is a real-life psychological phenomenon). And what parent wouldn't be concerned about their daughter dating the wrong boy, especially when he wraps explosions around his chest for a warped cause?
In short, what we have are three movies wanting to break out on their own and fill the running time, but end up being constrained into their preordained segments. Surprisingly, the weakest is the torture story, possibly because Gyllenhaal's character is passive for so long that his story ends up neutered, and we're never given the chance to emotionally connect fully with Metwally's character.
Fairing just a tiny bit better is Witherspoon's segment, but with so many characters and elements at play within it, it suffers the most from the truncated screen time. The best is the one featuring the star-crossed young lovers whose predetermined fate creates a compelling story, especially considering the high-level stakes at play.
Hood does keep things moving at a decent clip, and the film does feature some interesting wrap-around moments late in the goings when everything comes into play. I just wish, however, that it all came together better, through either a longer running time (never my favorite option) or somehow jettisoning one or more storylines, or at least reducing them to the degree that one main one could shine. Decent but not great, "Rendition" rates as a 5 out of 10.
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