Rendition delves into morality and politics

Ever since 9/11, any politically tinged movie from Hollywood tends to be regarded as hostile to the current administration and its foreign policy. However, the important question is how entertaining the movie is regardless of its political message.

Director Gavin Hood creates a heart-wrenching drama about the tragedies of terrorism and torture with the underlying message that "violence begets violence."

This vicious cycle makes the film roll back and forth between differing points of view of multiple characters and confusing plot twists, but the film has a spectular cast that portrays the film in an appealing manner.

As advertised, the movie is about a woman named Isabella (played by Reese Witherspoon) who fights to find out what happened to her husband, a legal U.S. resident named El-Ibrahimi (played by actor Omar Metwally).

Isabella's search leads her to legislator Corrine Whitman (Meryl Streep), who denies any knowledge of the husband. Actually, Whitman herself approved the rendition of El-Ibrahimi to Egypt because, while the U.S. does not allow torture, Egypt does.

Next enters Douglas Freeman, played by Jake Gyllenhaal of Brokeback Mountain fame. He is a CIA operative that observes the torture so as to get critical intel concerning a terrorist attack.

While everyone else seems so resolute in their resolve, Freeman is conflicted about the importance of information against the evils of torture.

In addition, there is a concurrent plot about the torturer, Igal Naor (played by actor Abasi Fawal). His brutal techniques may get results, but they also creates estrangement in his family and provoke extremist groups.

Constant shifting between both plots in Egypt and the U.S. takes the audience through a step-by-step process of how to make a terrorist.

The overall film is entertaining with a few stale moments, and the cinematography is easy on the eyes and ears, especially during a suicide bomb scene.

The acting was also good with special attention to Meryl Streep. Her Whitman character is a cold, calculating politician that has no problem ordering the rendition, and hence torture, of an Islamic family man based on her own prejudices despite exonerating evidence. While the character is an extreme cross-breed between President George W. Bush and Senator Hillary Clinton, this southern-accented antagonist could only be portrayed so viciously well by Academy Award-winning Streep.

This is not a family film by any means. It has enough violence to interest the action-prone, while the tragedy can make some cry.

Besides politics, the film has enough matter, albeit fiction, to sustain an intelligent conversation about terrorism and torture.

Do we want politicians that will protect the U.S. at any cost, or are there ethical/moral lines never to be crossed?

Do terrorists deserve the worst possible treatment, does that create more resistance, or worse yet, does that make torturer just as inhuman as the terrorist? Can reliable information be gained by such extreme means?

While the theater is more than enough for this show, I will definitely recommend checking out the movie or purchasing the DVD because I feel this movie has a lot more to say.