STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
In the aftermath of 9/11, the US State Department is under pressure to round up suspects, at home and abroad. Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Tahoe Rahim) finds himself taken from his home in Mauritius, placed on a rendition flight and placed in Guantanamo Bay. His case attracts the attention of defence attorney Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) and her assistant Teri Duncan (Shailene Bailey.) Under the terms of Habeus Corpus, Hollander knows that Slahi can't be held overly long without being charged, and as she and military prosecutor Stuart Couch (Benedict Cumberbatch) dig deeper in to the case, they uncover evidence that casts everything in a new light.
Years after it happened, 9/11 and the events that followed it are still fresh in everyone's minds, and can still be felt in the political climate today. One of the scariest ones has got to be America's standing as the superpower of the world, and how it can abuse that power to it's whim, which can be witnessed in the shocking amount of people from around the world hoisted away from their homes, and held for years without being charged or having a trial, one of which this sprawling legal drama from director Kevin McDonald explores.
Performances wise, Foster is effortlessly effective in the role, with just the perfect presence and it's hard to think who would have done it better. Cumberbatch is also reliably solid in support, with a commanding presence you've come to expect off him, and doing a great American accent. But stealing the show is relative newcomer Rahim, still fresh from hit BBC drama The Serpent, as the central protagonist, sometimes cracking but still trying to keep his humanity together in spite of his desperate predicament. Director Macdonald also makes his contribution to the proceedings, with neat touches, like closing the screen in during the scenes with Slahi in the detention centre, to add to the feeling of claustrophobia and being trapped.
It's all rounded off with some horrifying true life statistics regarding those incarcerated and those charged, leaving us with the uncomfortable realisation that the subject's situation is far from unique, and making you question America's legitimacy in its role as the world's policeman. ****
In the aftermath of 9/11, the US State Department is under pressure to round up suspects, at home and abroad. Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Tahoe Rahim) finds himself taken from his home in Mauritius, placed on a rendition flight and placed in Guantanamo Bay. His case attracts the attention of defence attorney Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) and her assistant Teri Duncan (Shailene Bailey.) Under the terms of Habeus Corpus, Hollander knows that Slahi can't be held overly long without being charged, and as she and military prosecutor Stuart Couch (Benedict Cumberbatch) dig deeper in to the case, they uncover evidence that casts everything in a new light.
Years after it happened, 9/11 and the events that followed it are still fresh in everyone's minds, and can still be felt in the political climate today. One of the scariest ones has got to be America's standing as the superpower of the world, and how it can abuse that power to it's whim, which can be witnessed in the shocking amount of people from around the world hoisted away from their homes, and held for years without being charged or having a trial, one of which this sprawling legal drama from director Kevin McDonald explores.
Performances wise, Foster is effortlessly effective in the role, with just the perfect presence and it's hard to think who would have done it better. Cumberbatch is also reliably solid in support, with a commanding presence you've come to expect off him, and doing a great American accent. But stealing the show is relative newcomer Rahim, still fresh from hit BBC drama The Serpent, as the central protagonist, sometimes cracking but still trying to keep his humanity together in spite of his desperate predicament. Director Macdonald also makes his contribution to the proceedings, with neat touches, like closing the screen in during the scenes with Slahi in the detention centre, to add to the feeling of claustrophobia and being trapped.
It's all rounded off with some horrifying true life statistics regarding those incarcerated and those charged, leaving us with the uncomfortable realisation that the subject's situation is far from unique, and making you question America's legitimacy in its role as the world's policeman. ****