To see or not to see? | Rendition questions the methods of the United States government

As one reflects upon the politics of the current age, it is evident that the politics of war are the darkest kind. Since Sept. 11, the United States government has moved toward a standard of security achieved through the interrogation of suspected terrorists - with or without concrete evidence. For quite some time, a critique of such behavior has for found its way into film. Gavin Hood's Rendition is yet another exemplification of Hollywood's scrutiny of the methods used to fight the war on terror.

Returning to the United States from a business trip in Africa, Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) is kidnapped by the United States government and taken against his will to an undisclosed detention facility in Egypt. His detaining comes after allegations claim his involvement in a suicide bombing attack. Denied a lawyer and correspondence with his pregnant wife (Reese Witherspoon) who is awaiting his return in Chicago, El-Ibrahimi is interrogated relentlessly through the use of unorthodox - and often times barbaric - methods of torture. As it becomes apparent that El-Ibrahimi's involvement in the bombing was perhaps nonexistent, Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal), a CIA analyst, finds himself questioning his actions and those of his government.

Combined with the fear Metwally's character experiences because of his interrogators, and Gyllenhaal's exhibition of anxiety and mistrust, the various methods of interrogation cause a real feeling of alarm as one views the brutal actions used to retrieve information. An array of recent films have moved to question the manner in which the United States government fosters homeland security, yet so few have achieved the level of sentiment like that of Rendition.

Director Hood makes a direct, plain statement: a nation must adhere to the values and beliefs which it claims to uphold - in this case, the administering of due process to every individual residing within the United States. Through the interactions between the film's characters, Hood uses the emotion of America's ever-present war to evoke a feeling of chaotic dismay. Thus, one is invited to question whether or not the price of freedom for all at the expense of one person's physical and emotional injury is worth it - the answer, of course, is no.

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