Rendition

 

Rendition 2007

• Director: Gavin Hood
• Seen by this director: Eye in the Sky, X-Men Origins Wolverine, Tsotsi
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Omar Metwally, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Reese Witherspoon – Big Little Lies, Wild, Walk the Line, Legally Blonde, American Psycho, Pleasantville
• Jake Gyllenhaal – Prisoner, Life, Zodiac, Proof, Brokeback Mountain, Day After Tomorrow, Moonlight Mile, The Good Girl, Donnie Darko, October Sky
• Peter Sarsgaard – An Education, Garden State, Dead Man Walking
• Omar Metwally – Fringe
• Meryl Streep – Rickie and the Flash, Big Little Lies, Mamma Mia 1&2, Suffragette, Into the Woods, August Osage County, A Prairie Home Companion, Angels in America, The Hours, Marvin’s Room, The Bridges of Madison County, Postcards from the Edge, Ironweed, Out of Africa, Silkwood, Sophie’s Choice, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Kramer vs Kramer, The Deer Hunter, Holocaust
• Alan Arkin – The Secret Lives of Pippa Lee, Sunshine Cleaning, Little Miss Sunshine, Gattaca, Grosse Pointe Blank, Glengarry Glen Ross, Edward Scissorhands, Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming
• Why? The cast.
• Seen: 9 December 2022

        Egyptian born Anwar (Metwally) is returning to his wife Isabel (Witherspoon) and family in Chicago when he is arrested by the CIA and accused of a recent bombing in a North African city. Isabel frantically tries to find out where he is.

       It’s much more complex than that with side stories of many of those involved. Essentially it’s about how American authorities use torture against individuals in its so-called war on terrorism. So it’s not just a thriller, not just a political thriller, but a serious exposé. The US breaks its own rules and rejects its supposed belief in democracy and individual rights in its self-appointed role as global cop.

       So for an international intrigue film it’s quite good. 

3* of 5