“Honey, this is nasty business. There are upwards of 7,000 people in central London alive tonight, because of information that we elicited just this way. So maybe you can put your head on your pillow and feel proud for saving one man while 7,000 perish, but I got grandkids in London, so I’m glad I’m doing this job… and you’re not.” – Corrine Whitman
Number of Times Seen – 2 (22 Jan 2008 and 25 Apr 2018)
Brief Synopsis – After returning from a business trip in South Africa a businessman of Egyptian descent who has been living in the US for years is abducted by the CIA as a possible link to a terrorist bombing that killed a US government official.
My Take on it – This is a film that I recall seeing not long after it came out and enjoying quite a lot.
Unfortunately, not much has changed in the world over the past decade (and it doesn’t seem that it will) and in some ways this films feels even more relevant now than it might have been back then.
They manage to show how difficult, complex and convoluted certain situations in the world can get and that there are men and women who spend day and night trying to stop foreseeable threats.
This complicates things even more because not all of the information that they acquire is true and the fine line between truth and fiction could lead to an even worse situation.
This film does a great job of showing us multiple perspectives and levels of these kind of situations in order to show how many people could be affected by such an event.
The ambiguity of it all is what makes this even more fascinating to watch unfold.
The cast is superb and help the story move along at a great pace.
This film also allows us t see how knowledge and information is passed around in the highly dangerous, yet highly technical world we all live in.
The scary thing about this film is that it could be quite real in everything that happens.
Bottom Line – Really good story that tries to show how convoluted and difficult certain situations can be in the world we now live in. They do a great job giving us multiple sides of the story and just like with the characters, the truth always remains an ambiguity which makes it even more interesting. Excellent cast helps keep the story moving along at a great pace. This film also gives us an interesting look at the way knowledge and information is passed around in this high tech world that we live in. It’s sometimes quite scary how real films like this can be. Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The quote, “I fear you speak upon the rack where men enforced do speak anything” (a man undergoing torture will say anything to make the pain stop) is from Act 3 Scene 2 of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. (From IMDB)
Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)
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