Day 3 marked the first time I saw more than two films in a day at this year’s festival, and let me assure you, it’s a little more difficult than it sounds. Rushing from theatre to theatre through the streets of downtown T.O., only to stand in lengthy lines for 30 plus minutes is not my idea of fun. However, I did make a promise and if I have to spend all day watching movies and slaving into the wee hours of the morning working on updates, I intend to bring you the best coverage possible. All kidding aside, the lines are a bit of a nuisance but once I get settled into my seat the excitement slowly creeps back into me, and all is forgotten when the films actually start. The morning started off with the excellent Rendition, but it slowly went downhill from there. Michael Clayton is a decent film, but certainly not great, and Mongol is a steaming pile of mediocrity.
Rendition
Rendition is another terrorism film; innocent people are tortured relentlessly, American intelligence agencies are corrupt, and families, relationships and lives are torn apart by war. You’ve seen this movie before. Despite failing to break new ground, Rendition is a tightly wound thriller and it succeeds as an emotionally driven commentary on the ever present War on Terror. Rather than making overly ambitious political statements and adopting a biased stance, the film presents its story in an efficiently straightforward manner, leaving the audience to decipher the answers to its fragile questions.
The story revolves around a suicide bombing in the Middle East that unintentionally kills a CIA agent, which launches the subsequent detainment of Egyptian-American Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally). The chemist boards his return flight at the end of a business trip, but his wife Isabella (Reese Witherspoon) is left in the dark when he fails to turn up, and simply vanishes from record. Meanwhile, Anwar is being transported to a secret holding facility in the Middle East, where analyst turned CIA agent Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) will supervise his interrogation and torture. This order, handed down by CIA super-bitch Colleen Whitmore (Meryl Streep) is what the government refers to as a “rendition”, a program that has saved hundreds of lives while admittedly sacrificing a few innocents ones in the process. As Freeman becomes increasingly disenchanted with the whole process and Isabella struggles for any shred of information on her missing husband, the far reaching consequences of the Middle Eastern turmoil are put on relentless display.
Gavin Hood and his ensemble cast do an incredible job of bringing the characters to life, perfectly representing the tragedy of a terrifyingly real situation. The frantic worry of Witherspoon’s Izzy, the furious patriotism of Streep’s Whitmore, the torn guilt of Gyllenhaal’s Freeman and the genuine innocence of Metwally’s Anwar pierce the screen as we wonder how we might respond in each of their precarious positions. It is only when you realize what very little choice is involved for any of them that the true horror of how helpless this war renders us becomes evident. When members of the same side have differing views of the already blurred line separating right from wrong, and a family’s survival or a nation’s safety hangs in the balance, whose job is it to hand down judgment? In the end, the film poses many complex questions that have no concrete answers, but it develops for us a newfound understanding and acceptance of the delicacy involved with the Middle East, and the ongoing War on Terror.
4/5 Stars
Michael Clayton
Once again, I am going to defer to Josh’s Review because let’s face it, if I disagree with the Big Boss I’m bound to get whacked before the morning, and that will be the end of your festival correspondent. Okay I guess he’s not that intimidating, so I’ll risk it and tell you that I did like Michael Clayton a little bit more than Josh, but I do agree with a lot of his criticisms. The main positive I have about the film is George Clooney’s performance as Michael Clayton. Technically, everyone should hate the character of Clayton because he essentially gets paid so the rich and powerful can sleep soundly at night, while living with their own set of rules by day. If corporations make a mess or bypass a few regulations that result in some accidental deaths, Michael will look the other way and quietly wipe the slate clean. Having said that, I still found myself on Michael’s side; whether it was George’s devilish good looks and charisma shining through, or just simply that there is a good man buried beneath the monster, I wanted him to succeed. He also has a list of personal problems longer than his tie, and it could be the sincerity with which he attempts to solve these issues that endears him to the audience. Either way, I was satisfied with the conclusion of the film and thought the last fifteen minutes rounded it out nicely enough to deserve an extra star. However as Josh notes, do not go into Michael Clayton expecting a thrilling drama, or even a court room battle royale because it is neither of those things. It is a slowly paced drama that offers enough shards of humor, mystery and intrigue to wind up a mildly entertaining, middle of the road film that is perhaps made slightly more interesting by George Clooney.
3/5 Stars
Mongol
When I first read the plot summary for Mongol I instantly fell in love because I thought it sounded like (yes I’m quoting myself), “Dances with Wolves set in Mongolia and without Kevin Costner.” Not that Kevin Costner is a bad thing, because I voted for his film on our most recent CB Top 5, that’s just how I described it. Well as it turns out, Costner’s absence is the only thing I was right about. Mongol is an epic without a hero, a romance without a lover, and a war without a decisive battle. Sure, there are attempts at these ingredients but they fall incredibly short and what is left is a shadow of a movie with no emotion, spirit, or meaning. Since I’m coming down pretty hard on the film I should probably extrapolate my disdain a little further, but I’ll be honest: it’s way past my bedtime and I refuse to let this mediocre film ruin my early morning screening of Eastern Promises, so that’s all I have for now. I will however end on a positive note, and say that it is a slightly better film than Jesse James, but only because it is forty minutes shorter.
2/5 Stars
Tomorrow’s Schedule
Eastern Promises - 09:30am
Religilous: A Conversation - 01:00pm
Le Deuxieme souffle - 04:00pm
