Rendition

MPAA Rating: R

Entertainment: +1

Content: -2

Reese Witherspoon, Omar Metwally, Jake Gyllenhaal, Alan Arkin, Meryl Streep. Political thriller. Written by Kelley Sane. Directed by Gavin Hood.

FILM SYNOPSIS: When an Egyptian- born chemical engineer disappears from a flight from South Africa to Washington D.C., his American wife tries to find him. Could the CIA be involved? Could somebody in American intelligence be a bad guy?

PREVIEW REVIEW: With Rendition, war has been declared. Past verbal attacks against George Bush from Sean Penn, George Clooney, Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford and the rest will seem like mere peace discussions compared to the new assailment of cinematic messages meant to disarm and dismantle our efforts in Iraq. (E. B. Hill doesnt preach with such vigor.)

Though this one is more a skirmish than an all out bombardment, make no mistake, Hollywood has an agenda. The focus of this movie/battle is to take out any question of legitimacy for torture in order to gain information. How do they do it? Well, we not only get to see a man being tortured with near drowning, electro shock and beatings, but the CIA agent viewing it, allowing this to happen to a citizen of U.S. And the victim is innocent. I guess. Thats never totally clear. But audiences will leave the theater believing secret intelligence agencies will commit the most heinous crimes possible in order to achieve their goal. That may be true, but members of that agency are always pictured as either cold blooded or dumber than a bagful of hammers.

This is a case where the message outshines the artistic and technical achievements. You dont leave the theater saying, Reese did a great job. The film is designed to cause further distrust of our leaders. And these monsters in charge of our government are always portrayed on screen as Republicans.

Its a brilliant first attack, aiming at our soft underbelly: our abhorrence to the concept of torturing a human being. Most of us are leery of American involvement in such a practice. No matter the information gained from this violence to a person, theres the reality that the one doing the afflicting will never again be the same. Something dies in a person once he or she becomes this barbaric. Perhaps the same can be said for a nation that allows it. I have no problem with a film making that point. But this film is downright manipulative and just the beginning of the lefts offensive.

As Hitler was taking power of Europe, Leni Riefenstahl indoctrinated her country with one perspective in Triumph of the Will. Now, Im not comparing director Gavin Hood with Adolph Hitler. But the tactics are the same: show what you want, with little regard for all the facts or other viewpoints. Had Ms. Riefenstahl used her documentary to show Jews being gassed or burned alive, perhaps the German people would not have been so gung ho in following the Fuehrer. Get ready for a full-out campaign: Charlie Wilsons War, No End in Sight, In the Valley of Elah, Lions for Lambs, Grace is Gone and several others with anti-war themes. And ask yourselves, since these types of movies never see the light of the cinema screen when a Democrat is in office, is this about ending our involvement in Iraq? Or is it about getting the Republicans out of Washington?

Now, some of you just said, that would be a good thing. Maybe youre right. But is this the way you want it done, through manipulation by a medium with an agenda? Be careful what you ask for.

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor:
New Line Cinema

Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.

Crude Language: None

Obscene Language: Around ten obscenities, mostly the f-word.

Profanity: Gods name followed by a curse is heard once, and from the female lead; Christs name is also misspoken by Reese.

Violence: Brutal depictions of the torture of an innocent man; a bomb goes off, killing many; we see blown-apart bodies; a man is scene shot to death; other graphic terroristic injustices are portrayed. Blood: There is blood from wounds inflicted upon a tortured man and other victims of war crimes.

Sex: Three sexual situations, though not overly graphic, they didnt seem necessary to the plot.

Nudity: We see the tortured man nude in several scenes.

Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: None

Drugs: Smoking, drinking throughout and in one scene, the male lead is seen in a caf where it appears he and others are smoking a hashish pipe.

Other: None

Running Time: 122 minutes
Intended Audience: Adults


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