Review of Rendition (2007) by Chris M — 02 Jun 2012

This is a solid political thriller that has plenty to praise, but ultimately ends up being less than the sum of its parts. The cast are all terrific, especially Yigal Naor as the brutal, implacable interrogator. Maybe it doesn't hold up quite so well in 2012 as it may have done in 2007, as the storyline is no longer anything that shocking.

It all feels so heavy-handed. The goodies seem almost saintly, the baddies are simply irredeemable, especially the US politicians behind the scenes. Meryl Streep is like a one-dimensional version of Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton, with nothing interesting to flesh her out. The supposed time-shift-twist seems to come from nowhere but doesn't add very much at all to the storyline. It should make a contribution to Abasi's character arc, it should enlighten us about what we've previously seen, but it just doesn't.

When the end comes it's barely any surprise, it just felt like quite a long time coming; which is a shame, because the film does challenge the US (and others') clandestine policies, there are some powerful scenes and strong acting performances.