Inescapable (2012)

Years after he left Damascus under suspicious circumstances, Adib Abdel Kareem must confront what he left behind when his daughter goes missing.

Director:

Ruba Nadda

Writer:

Ruba Nadda

Stars:

Alexander Siddig, Joshua Jackson, Marisa Tomei

Cast

Credited cast:
Alexander Siddig	...	Adib
Joshua Jackson	...	Paul
Marisa Tomei	...	Fatima
Oded Fehr	...	Sayid
Saad Siddiqui	...	Halim
Fadia Nadda	...	Lingerie Girl
Bonnie Lee Bouman	...	Emily
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jay Anstey	...	Muna

Storyline

One afternoon, on a typical day at work, Adib is confronted with devastating news: His eldest daughter, Muna, has gone missing in Damascus. Now Adib, who has not been back in over 20 years, must return to Syria and deal with his secret past in order to find her. Inescapable is a thriller about a father's desperate search for his daughter and the chaos of the Middle East he left behind.

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Taglines:

You can never escape your past.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence and brief language

Details

Country:

Canada South Africa

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

22 February 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ajojahti

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,545 (USA) (22 February 2013)

Gross:

$4,063 (USA) (1 March 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

IFC Films, Myriad Pictures, Alliance Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Excellent, thoughtful, fun

I was very pleased to see this movie was willing to bring the action, as good as Ruba Nadda's romantic-leaning films Cairo Time and Sabah were. But where this film about a father who flies to a dangerous land to rescue his daughter from an unknown threat is different from Taken is that the hero is flesh and blood and approaches the problem in a civilized way first and by the time there is fighting we can feel a sense of consequence.

It has been said that the movie starts off fast. It starts as it should and as I reflected afterwards it avoids stock shots of a plane taking off and gives the impression of travel with aerial shot of a road the hero is riding along in a car. Cinematic short-hand. At the same time, it manages to avoid scenes that would be obvious beats in a lesser movie, like the panic of the mother upon learning of the crisis. Instead we see the moment before, as she watches her husband on the phone preparing to make the trip and confront the problem. There is just enough of the Canadian wife in this movie, considering that she would not compete with Marisa Tomei who "blends" into her environment and feels authentic. Even to the end I am thinking I hope Tomei's character makes out alright.

Alexander Siddig is not playing a super human but someone who is willing to face the worst and some real consequences to find his daughter. Joshua Jackson as a Canadian embassy guy manages to show several divergent aspects of his role without falling into any traps that would be central to a lesser movie with similar layers. Had Siddig been playing a typical action hero, he would have to cross a line into sociopath to clear away all the bad guys at once. He gets some good shots in and we can cheer for him, and one secret police figure is especially smug and needs to be killed but the way this film arrives at what has to happen is to take a left turn into character-motivated choices that are refreshing for the genre. Where there is tension, we are absolutely rooted in the reality of the moment by Siddig's expression. This is real for him and for us.

I have read a comment/review here on IMDb by one "A P" that seems to be a screaming stream of lies, one after the other. I contest his claim that people walked out during the TIFF screening. The movie grabs your attention and Siddig has a strong presence. There is a reason for every scene and not a moment is wasted. Any politics I took for granted. One villain is identified as Israeli but even he is redeemed. This is not a political tract. As I watched the story unfold as a Caucasian Canadian male I looked at the cultural aspect as colour that Ruba brings but the concept of a hero's descent into a special and dangerous world is one that we know and accept as classic myth. I had no problem identifying with Siddig's character, often called "Mr. Toronto" by an innkeeper in the film, and seeing it through his eyes. I am stunned by the current low numerical rating this movie has on IMDb and I trust that the more people see it the more the rating will improve. I noticed in a TIFF guide or other such publication Inescapable was misidentified as a romance. There is a restrained and heartbreaking lost love woven through the story, but it is a thriller that is correctly paced and set- up. It has action, though the build up is half the entertainment. I highly recommend seeing this movie.