As soon as the hood comes out, start talking. Rendition leaves the question of guilt or innocence to each viewer.

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“There is scarcely for the finding a savage or primitive race which does not employ torture either in its religious rites or its code of punishment.” (From “A History of Torture” by George Riley Scott.) No matter how much is said about the uselessness of torture in obtaining information, it continues. If it doesn’t work, why is it still widely used? Why not just use the polygraph and be done with it?

“Rendition” explores the U.S. policy of abducting foreigners in this country suspected of terrorism and taking them to overseas prisons for torture interrogations. Who was the architect of this devious evil plan? I want names.

Egyptian-born chemical engineer Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) is on his way home in Chicago from Cape Town, South Africa when he is kidnapped by the CIA in Washington, D.C. and taken out of the country on a private plane. His pregnant wife Isabella El-Ibrahimi (Reese Witherspoon) waits at the airport with their young son. El-Ibrahimi seems an unlikely suspect for having terrorist affiliations. He was educated in the U.S. and makes a six-figure salary. He’s got a lovely family and his mother lives with them.

A suicide bomb has gone off in a North African city square, killing a CIA officer. His immediate replacement is analyst Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal), who admits his incompetence to handle this investigation once the plane with El-Ibrahimi lands. The interrogator and torturer is Abasi Falwal (Igal Naor) a devout Muslim who just happens to have been the intended target of the suicide bomber.

Falwal’s daughter is in love with a fellow student and is not willing to agree to an arranged marriage. Her defiance leads her to stay with her boyfriend whose brother was killed and is involved with an Islamic militant group. She is blissfully ignorant of her boyfriend’s and father’s activities. Her manipulative boyfriend and her father are both unsympathetic characters.

While Freeman is supposed to observe the interrogation without interfering, his statement that “this is his first torture” infuriates his superior in D.C., the cold, committed Corinne Whitman (Meryl Streep) who ordered the rendition.

Isabella takes off for Washington, D.C. to meet with old college flame Alan Smith (Peter Sarsgaard). Coincidentally, and luckily, Smith is a top advisor to Illinois Senator Hawkins (Alan Arkin). Smith knew El-Ibrahimi as well and agrees to make a few phone calls. Hawkins is on the committee that gets weekly briefings from sinister Whitman. Isabella has the right connections to make things happen but the Senator tells Smith to go no further or jeopardize his political career.

The evidence the CIA has on El-Ibrahimi is simple: Several calls were placed from North Africa to his cell phone. Or were they? This soon starts slipping into the ‘maybe’ category. How long were the calls? How many wrong numbers did El-Ibrahimi get a month from North Africa? Were calls to his phone the only ones the bombers made? Isn’t it odd he has the kind of expertise bombers would need?

Has El-Ibrahimi been targeted unfairly? This past August, Bilal Abdulla, an Iraqi junior doctor and Saudi Mohammed Asha, a brilliant neurologist working for the NHS, were among the suspects being quizzed over the series of bomb attacks across Britain. The suspected ringleader of the Al Qaeda car bombers is 26 year old Asha. He was arrested while traveling with his burqa-wearing wife and their two-year-old son.

So apparently it is not just disenfranchised, uneducated and unemployed youths with nothing to do but strap on bombs and claim their 72 virgins.

Everybody talks in the end, so why endure torture for seven days? I’d start talking on the way to the plane. They couldn’t shut me up.

Witherspoon gives a strong performance as Isabella, though I would have been more hysterical and demanding. Any state senator would have met with a constituent like Isabella even if it was to just feign interest to smooth things over. Instead, Senator Hawkins dropped it off in love-struck Smith’s lap.

Gyllenhaal shows the right amount of shock and disgust over the torture sessions, while observing in silence. Sarsgaard is yet to give a less-than-perfect performance. He just never calls it in. Streep gives one of those ice cold performances written by Hollywood writers who stop knowing women over 40. Wouldn’t a woman with that much power over life and death be somewhat charming? A little charm would have been more chilling to her ruthlessness.

“Rendition” is a powerful movie offering audiences a lot to think about.

Victoria Alexander lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and answers every email. You can contact Victoria directly at masauu@aol.com or by visiting www.FilmsInReview.com.

RENDITION
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema presents in association with Level 1 Entertainment an Anonymous Content Production

Director: Gavin Hood
Writer: Kelley Sane
Producers: Steve Golin, Marcus Viscidi
Executive producers: Toby Emmerich, Keith Goldberg, David Kanter, Keith Redman, Michael Sugar, Edward Milstein, Bill Todman Jr., Paul Schwake
Director of photography: Dion Beebe
Production designer: Barry Robison
Costume designer: Michael Wilkinson
Music: Paul Hepker, Mark Kilian
Editor: Megan Gill

Cast:
Douglas Freeman: Jake Gyllenhaal
Isabella El-Ibrahimi: Reese Witherspoon
Sen. Hawkins: Alan Arkin
Alan Smith: Peter Sarsgaard
Anwar El-Ibrahimi: Omar Metwally
Abasi Falwal: Igal Naor
Corinne Whitman: Meryl Streep