Rendition

NEW YORK (CNS) -- "Rendition" (New Line) is a quietly intense thriller concerning an American woman, Isabella (Reese Witherspoon), and her efforts to discover the whereabouts of her Egyptian-born husband, Anwar (Omar Metwally), a chemical engineer who has been abducted by the U.S. government upon returning to the States from a business trip.

He's taken to an unspecified North African city (though filmed in Morocco) where he is tortured and interrogated in connection with a suicide bombing. A lower-level CIA analyst, Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal), is given the formidable task of monitoring the questioning after the original CIA case officer stationed there is killed in the bombing.

In her desperation, Isabella (pregnant, no less) reaches out to an old college flame, Alan Smith (Peter Sarsgaard), now working for the prominent Sen. Hawkins (Alan Arkin), and he uncovers the facts of Anwar's disappearance.

Meanwhile, Fatima (Zineb Oukach), the daughter of the implacable police chief (Igal Naor) who's supervising Anwar's interrogation, is having clandestine meetings with Khalid (Moa Khouas), a member of an Islamic extremist group. She eventually runs off with Khalid, after which she comes to learn the extent of his fervor.

Freeman is wracked with guilt by the sights he witnesses, and takes refuge in drink and the local woman with whom he cohabits.

Gavin Hood -- who made the superb film "Tsotsi" last year -- raises valid questions about the government's abduction of foreign nationals without due process, an anti-terrorism procedure called "extraordinary rendition."

Yet the ambiguity about the Egyptian husband in Kelley Sane's script is frustrating. Anwar's protestations of innocence seem, at first, absolutely genuine, then less so, as he simply keeps repeating "It's a mistake."

There might be a point in keeping us guessing. After all, if he's guilty, the abduction might seem justified. But the film's point of view seems skewed to making the CIA brass the bad guys. So, given the script's mixed signals, the viewer is emotionally distanced.

Performances are capable throughout, and it's nice to see Metwally -- a fine New York stage actor -- get such a substantial film role. Meryl Streep's portrayal of CIA honcho Corinne Whitman, who orders Anwar's interrogation, rivals her icy work in "The Devil Wears Prada." The scene where Sarsgaard's character boldly confronts her at an official function fairly bristles, and emerges as the film's dramatic highpoint.

A time twist at the end seems a rather pointless layer on an already muddled narrative, but all in all "Rendition" still rates as an effective thriller, and proves engrossing despite these flaws.

The film contains torture, shadowy partial and rear nudity, a nonmarital relationship, brief profanity, and a suicide bombing with bloodshed. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops