Rendition (2007)

I watched this on my own and found it a rather draining experience. The story is horrifying and the scenes of torture were torturous. I had to close my eyes in parts. Yet, it wasn't too graphic, rather more emotional and disturbing than violent (but plenty violent too). Of course, the movie had a serious message, and one that I strongly agree with, but I wish they could have figured out a less heavy-handed, direct, "on the nose" way of putting it.

As for the acting, Reese Witherspoon is good but has almost nothing to do in this movie. I prefer her to show some humor. Maybe that's why I enjoyed her first scene, where she plays soccer with her young son and smiles. That's all the smiling we get from her. After that, all we get is lot of close ups of those big, blue, pleading eyes. Most of her acting consisted of being pregnant and walking…very…slowly.

Jake Gyllenhaal, a CIA agent overseeing the questioning of Witherspoon's husband (the person subjected to "extraordinary rendition") in "North Africa" is tormented and inert and by far the best thing in the picture. He is the only one with any moral dilemma and with any shades of grey in his character. Yet, we know very little about him. Like the other characters, he's still a sketch, in service to the message of the film: extraordinary rendition is bad. Did I really need to spend two hours to find that out? Sigh.