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Rendition
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Editorial Reviews:
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Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal and Meryl Streep star in this nail- biting thriller about a man who mysteriously disappears on a flight from South Africa to Washington DC and the government conspiracy put in place to cover it up.
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Roger Ebert called it "perfect," and certainly the timing couldn't have been much better: Rendition was released just as the U.S. was debating anew the issue of "extraordinary rendition," a policy (begun under the Clinton administration, accelerated after September 11, 2001) of handing over suspected terrorists to countries that use torture as an interrogation tool. Alas, the movie only rarely fills in the outlines of a prototypical "issue movie," the kind of thing peopled by cardboard characters tracing the patterns of an important, indeed urgent, subject. The plot kicks into gear when an Egyptian-born man (Omar Metwally) is sent to an unnamed North African country where torture is practiced, with the CIA in approval. The film takes a Crash dive through how this affects various people: his pregnant American wife (Reese Witherspoon), the reluctant CIA agent (Jake Gyllenhaal) on the scene, a severe interrogator (Yigal Naor), all the way up to a U.S. terrorism honcho (Meryl Streep) willing to turn a blind eye to the unpleasantness if it stops a terrorist attack. Things spark briefly when Witherspoon enlists an old beau (Peter Sarsgaard) to plead her case with his boss, a U.S. Senator (Alan Arkin), but for the most part director Gavin Hood (Totsi) can't find a way to color in these line drawings, despite the formidable actors doing spirited work. The issue is fully and lucidly explained, but the movie doesn't come alive. --Robert Horton
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Rendition
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User Comments About Rendition
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Her name was listed in a way suggesting she was a principal player. She is not. There are many other reviews which address the question of the use of interogation techniques in fighting terrorists and I don't wish to add another. I am always interested in Meryl Streep. This DVD will give you about 10 minutes of a character type that does not allow Streep to display her range of acting talent. This is not a "war" movie which will bring the country together.
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Some interesting twists in this one. I had to keep wondering how that story line was related to the main topic - then the surprise ending. For the viewer, who is not really sure if the captive is guilty or innocent, it's important to see things from both sides. The tactics are considered legal to fight terrorism but what if the suspect is innocent of the charges. Character portrayal seems genuine although harsh as probably it needs to be to depict the real world. There are no right or wrong answers here.
The film seems one sided at times as you are pulled into the situation the pregnant wife is facing waiting for for news about her husband after missing from an international trip. The acting is well done. The story is more political than I expected but is worth watching. and it all comes together. Those in charge are guarded about what they are doing and those who can help are reluctant to risk their careers by getting involved. There is a related thread that does not connect until quite late in the film.
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Rendition is very well done. It left me speechless and exhausted at the end. This movie is an indictment on the outgoing Bush administration and where our country as descended in human and civil rights.
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And poor Anwar just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (with the wrong name and skin color). It is, however, well told. When Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally, Munich) comes back to the U.S. The problem is incorporating the message without ramming it down the audience's throat. Calling upon an old beau named Alan Smith (Peter Sarsgaard, Jarhead) who works for Senator Hawkins (Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine), Isabella is given the runaround by the higher-ups regarding her husband's whereabouts.
Names, a person's birth country, and the color of one's skin come into play strongly, giving the flick a well-deserved sense of political bigotry. Films that incorporate a solid political message along with outstanding performances are few and far between. Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain) stars as a CIA operative who has to witness firsthand the "interrogation" of Amwar. Or not losing the audience in a quagmire of politicalese.
The big question is why. When a U.S. Having been friends with the American who was killed, Douglas Freeman (Gyllenhaal) quickly loses his stomach for the methods used by the U.S.- backed, foreign interrogators. for interrogation (see torture). Finally given the name of a homeland security person named Corrine Whitman (Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada) she again butts heads with government silence on the policy of extraordinary rendition. The reality is startling.
And the way the story works itself from beginning to end and then back again was pretty impressive (more of a parlor trick, though, but still fun to watch). legal maneuver known as "extraordinary rendition," which, when translated, means the deportation of suspected terrorists to countries outside the U.S. Horrible and redeeming, RENDITION has plenty of strong actors who are given tidbit parts (except for Jake Gyllenhaal), giving much of the film an unidentifiable message from the standpoint of characters and our lack of caring for any of them.
(his adopted home country) he is met at the airport by agents who quickly stuff him into a van and whisk him off to a far-away country. Syriana suffered from the latter, while this one suffered only slightly under the strain of throat ramming and some poor character development (or minimal screen time). The film's premise is based on the U.S.
terrorists chasers want a scapegoat or, at the very least, someone to cop to helping the one who did it. agent is accidentally killed, the U.S. Back in America, Amwar's pregnant wife Isabella (Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line) is wondering why he hasn't returned home.
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Omar Metwally plays an Egyptian citizen, a successful chemical engineer who has lived in the United States since he was 14-years old. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: From the Secret Files of Harry Pennypacker. Nobody Drowns in Mineral Lake. Shadow Watcher. He's married to Reese Witherspoon, has a young son and another child on the way. They believe he is a terrorist and may be responsible for a recent bombing in North Africa.
He becomes increasingly uncomfortable with what he observes, particularly after he is convinced that the man is innocent. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a low level CIA agent, assigned to oversee Metwally's interrogation. Druxman, author of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD airport and taken into custody by the CIA. Alan Arkin and Peter Sarsgaard are cast as the U.S. That's a line from Shakespeare's THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, and it's also a key theme in RENDITION, a disturbing, yet very good film. There is also a major surprise near the end of the film.
On his way back to his home in Chicago from a scientific conference in South Africa, he is intercepted at the Washington D.C. RENDITION, directed by Gavin Hood, is a tense, exciting political thriller that follows multiple characters and storylines to a powerful climax. "I fear you speak upon the rack, where men enforced do speak anything.". © Michael B. Even though he passes a lie detector test and there is no credible evidence against him, CIA chief Meryl Streep orders that he be sent back to Africa for interrogation and torture. Senator and his chief aide to whom Witherspoon turns when her husband disappears.
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