It’s interesting to see how real life influences Hollywood’s subject matter. In the 50’s, the nuclear threat spawned a whole genre of monster movies, in the 80’s it was the Russians, and for a few years now we’ve seen a steady stream of movies about terrorism. Some of those have been brainless action flicks where Middle-Eastern terrorists simply replaced their Russian predecessors, but thankfully there’s also the occasional gem. Like this one.

Rendition deals with the process of “extraordinary rendition”. Bill Clinton granted the CIA the right to detain individuals suspected of terrorist involvement without any legal proceedings, and transport them to secret locations outside the US. While the US government maintains they are not bringing them there to be tortured, this has been the subject of fierce debate.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays a CIA analist in Nothern Africa who gets sent one of these prisoners and observes the interrogation process. Meanwhile, the prisoner’s wife (played by Reese Witherspoon) is trying to find out why her husband did not return from a business trip and why he seems to have vanished in mid air. In a third storyline we see a young boy and girl struggling with local traditions, culture and religion. Of course these storylines will all come together in the movie’s finale.

Rendition is beautifully filmed and very well-acted, but it’s most valuable asset is the moral dilemma of whether it is justifiable to pick up and hold someone based on very weak evidence if the lives of thousands may be at stake. It’s main weakness is that it takes sides in this debate too early on, and it deals with a very extreme example. The somewhat forced happy ending also weakens the movie’s message.

That being said, Rendition still is a powerful, well-made film with an interesting premise. Definitely worth seeing.