Rendition (2007)

A CIA analyst questions his assignment after witnessing an unorthodox interrogation at a secret detention facility outside the US.

Director:

Gavin Hood

Writer:

Kelley Sane

Stars:

Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Alan Arkin

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Douglas Freeman
Reese Witherspoon	...	Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi
Meryl Streep	...	Corrine Whitman
Alan Arkin	...	Senator Hawkins
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Alan Smith
Omar Metwally	...	Anwar El-Ibrahimi
Yigal Naor	...	Abasi Fawal (as Igal Naor)
Hadar Ratzon	...	Safiya
J.K. Simmons	...	Lee Mayer
Simon Abkarian	...	Said Abdel Aziz
Moa Khouas	...	Khalid El-Emin
Zineb Oukach	...	Fatima Fawal
Aramis Knight	...	Jeremy El-Ibrahimi
Rosie Malek-Yonan	...	Nuru El-Ibrahimi
Laila Mrabti	...	Lina Fawal

Storyline

After a terrorist bombing kills an American envoy in a foreign country. An investigation leads to an Egyptian who has been living in the United States for years and who is married to an American. He is apprehended when he's on his way home. The U.S. sends him to the country where the incident occurs for interrogation which includes torture. An American CIA operative observes the interrogation and is at odds whether to keep it going or to stop it. In the meantime, the man's wife raises hell to find him despite being pregnant but the person behind this refuses to help or give her any information.

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Plot Keywords:

american | cia | interrogation | egyptian | detention | 

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Taglines:

What if someone you love...just disappeared?

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for torture/violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [fr] New Line Cinema [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Détention secrète

Filming Locations:

Anaheim Convention Center - 800 W. Katella Avenue, Anaheim, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£583,345 (UK) (19 October 2007)

Gross:

£2,448,581 (UK) (9 November 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anonymous Content, Level 1 Entertainment, MID Foundation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Muslims never ever saying Amen after "May the peace and blessings and glory of God, the Almighty, be upon you".

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Quotes

Corrine Whitman: Why don't you ask your boss how badly he really does want to stick his neck out for a terrorist.
Alan Smith: Well, he might for due process. Maybe I should have a copy of the Constitution sent to your office.

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Connections

Featured in Getaway: Episode #17.2 (2008)

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Soundtracks

"L'Amaar"
Written and Performed by M.C. Rai
Courtesy of Embarka Records

User Reviews

Masterful and Topical

Rendition presents a very topical matter in the form of a very tense thriller. It's a gripping, and not a preaching, movie. Seeing it in an Arab country with a mixture of Arabian and European audience gave it an extra level of atmosphere. The audience was totally gripped by the film and gave it a loud applause afterwards. The story of an Egyptian, married to an American, picked up on the suspicion of links to terrorist organizations and shipped to a friendly (with US) Arab country for "enhanced interrogation (as Meryl Streep's character states in the film: "we have no torture in the US") seems to be from the front page of todays news. There is a very neat link between the various characters which appear in the movie and the pace of the film never drops. The movies'message seems to be (as stated by Jake Gyllenhal's character in the film) that by abducting and torturing suspects you create many more terrorists. The acting is uniformly excellent with Streep and Reese Witherspoon the stand outs. Not to be missed.