I don't know...I guess Rendition wasn't all that bad. But it wasn't all that good either. It rests on my palate like the nth Sour Patch Kid that stops being a tasty treat and begins to shred the roof of your mouth with the sugar crystals. Am I making sense to you? Rendition starts out with a good taste but it takes a good thing too far, or just gives us too much of it, and fizzles out. With some brutal scenes of torture, Rendition takes a close look at the dilemmas inherent in a suspicion-oriented National Security policy. Stellar performances from most of the superstars involved isn't enough to give this film that extra "oomph".
A family man of Arab descent is abducted by the United States government on his way back home leaving his wife to start an investigation into his disappearance. The reason for his Houdini act: he's suspected of involvement in some terrorist plot. Meanwhile, a CIA agent witnesses an act of terrorism in a foreign country which kills his partner - making him the supervisor of the torturing of said abducted family man. Does the family man have anything to do with the sinister act perpetrated against an uncertain target? Can one man hide so much of himself from everyone he knows? Or is he just another innocent bloke unfairly profiled by his own government? The best part of Rendition is that you're never quite sure - even after the film's resolution - if the man is innocent or guilty. They resolve it...but they leave that thread of doubt. After all the torture you see him suffer at the hands of the foreign interrogation tactics - after all the emotions of pity for his suffering and disdain for the harsh methods - the director still manages to make you doubt. That's masterful. Unfortunately, that piece of cinematic brilliance is broken up among two other stories.
One of those two stories, is equally moving and touching - the very man who is torturing the suspected terrorist finds his daughter has run away and gone missing the week before the bombing. The second story, Reese Witherspoon's story - is annoying as all get out. Granted her storyline has some of the biggest star power in the film - but Reese's performance makes me regret her birth. How many different ways can one actress scream in despair as the pathways leading to answers are closed off one by one? One. And Reese uses that one way about 5 different times throughout the course of Rendition. It gets real annoying, real fast. Though, as I said, her story includes the heavy hitting star power with the likes of Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin and Peter Sarsgaard. All three of these actors perform brilliantly - but Reese ruins it all. Good going Reese.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays the CIA agent whose partner becomes a casualty in the town square bombing. Jake, as seems to be the norm these days, performs flawlessly and walks the fine line between a shaken rookie and man showing false confidence in a time of need. Mr. Gyllenhaal delivers a performance to be proud of.
Meryl Streep, who oversees every step of the interrogation, still manages to feign ignorance in the face of Reese's annoyingly frantic wife-figure. We're made to detest Streep's character for her taking a presumably innocent man and carting him off to the other side of the world to be mercilessly tortured. Streep plays it all out with unnerving excellence. Almost makes you wonder...
Omar Metwally deserves heaps of credit for his portrayal of Anwar El-Ibrahimi, the abducted father. His suffering during the stages of torture makes the audience cringe in sympathy. Omar may easily have had the best performance of the entire film - and that's no small feat.
Finally, Gavin Hood - the director of this masterpiece with only one drawback...cough...Reese Witherspoon...cough. Mr. Hood weaved an intricate structure that reveals its true form only in the final moments of the film. Many directors these days try to play tricks on the audience, but Hood did so without anyone ever thinking a political thriller would want to.
Honestly, if it weren't for Ms. Witherspoon this film would have been terrific. Damn you Reese Witherspoon. Damn you.
In the end though - Rendition is still worth seeing.
"Rendition" opens October 10, 2007 and is rated R. Drama. Directed by Gavin Hood. Written by Kelley Sane. Starring Alan Arkin, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Omar Metwalley, Peter Sarsgaard, Reese Witherspoon.
