Beirut
2.5/4
Starring: Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike, Dean Norris, Shea Whigham, Mark Pellegrino
Rated R for Language, Some Violence and a Brief Nude Image
"Beirut" is a thriller for thinking adults. It is also, surprisingly, not a remake/reboot/sequel, based off a book/foreign film, or an adaptation of a true story, and there are no superheroes. My God, does it feel good to write those words. While I can't recommend this film, I do sincerely wish that Hollywood would continue to make movies like this. Hey, not every movie lover camps out for tickets to Comic Con.
Beirut, 1972. Mason Skiles (Hamm) is living it up as a professor-turned-diplomat. He dotes upon his wife Nadia (Leila Bekhti) and an 11-year-old Lebanese boy named Karim, whom they've taken in as a surrogate son. At a swanky party, Mason's friend Cal (Pellegrino) takes him aside with an urgent message. Karim's brother Rami (Ben Affan) has been linked to the 1972 Munich massacre, and investigators want to speak to the boy. Before they can, the party is attacked by terrorists, and Nadia is killed. Ten years later, Mason is living in the US as an alcoholic and a low-level mediator. A former client tells him that the US government wants him to go back to Beirut for unknown reasons. When he gets there, he finds out the truth: Cal has been kidnapped and, for reasons I will not reveal, the terrorists have requested him specifically to negotiate.
The main thrust of "Beirut" is Mason's attempts to rescue Cal. It's undeniably compelling material, if a little confusing at times. The background material, with all of its political intrigue involving secrets, corruption and ambition, is a different matter altogether. It rarely makes sense. The problem is that it all rests on a virtually non-existent set-up and characters who are not precisely defined. As I was watching this movie, I kept thinking that a voiceover primer on the political situation in the Middle East at the time would have helped things.
Jon Hamm is a character actor, but that quality suits him well in this type of low-key film. Mason isn't Thomas Devoe or Batman. He's an average guy in a situation he does not want to be in, but knows what to do. His handlers have essentially brought him in to be their puppet, but Mason has a personal investment in finding Cal, and won't let anyone get in his way. This raises the ire of everyone, especially Sandy Crowder (Pike), who has her own reasons for being personally involved (not-so-spoiler alert: her interests are not romantic).
"Beirut" is a serviceable thriller, to be sure, but the screenplay by Tony Gilroy needed another run through the computer to have a better set-up and stronger character development. And Hollywood can really be done with the grainy, shaky cam crap. That was innovative and intense a decade ago, but now it's just irritating.
Even if it was flawless, "Beirut" was never going to be a box office champ. It's not that kind of movie. But for all its problems, I do hope that is successful enough to encourage studios to invest in smaller, more adult-oriented movies. If Hollywood makes them, I promise the audience is out there.
Starring: Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike, Dean Norris, Shea Whigham, Mark Pellegrino
Rated R for Language, Some Violence and a Brief Nude Image
"Beirut" is a thriller for thinking adults. It is also, surprisingly, not a remake/reboot/sequel, based off a book/foreign film, or an adaptation of a true story, and there are no superheroes. My God, does it feel good to write those words. While I can't recommend this film, I do sincerely wish that Hollywood would continue to make movies like this. Hey, not every movie lover camps out for tickets to Comic Con.
Beirut, 1972. Mason Skiles (Hamm) is living it up as a professor-turned-diplomat. He dotes upon his wife Nadia (Leila Bekhti) and an 11-year-old Lebanese boy named Karim, whom they've taken in as a surrogate son. At a swanky party, Mason's friend Cal (Pellegrino) takes him aside with an urgent message. Karim's brother Rami (Ben Affan) has been linked to the 1972 Munich massacre, and investigators want to speak to the boy. Before they can, the party is attacked by terrorists, and Nadia is killed. Ten years later, Mason is living in the US as an alcoholic and a low-level mediator. A former client tells him that the US government wants him to go back to Beirut for unknown reasons. When he gets there, he finds out the truth: Cal has been kidnapped and, for reasons I will not reveal, the terrorists have requested him specifically to negotiate.
The main thrust of "Beirut" is Mason's attempts to rescue Cal. It's undeniably compelling material, if a little confusing at times. The background material, with all of its political intrigue involving secrets, corruption and ambition, is a different matter altogether. It rarely makes sense. The problem is that it all rests on a virtually non-existent set-up and characters who are not precisely defined. As I was watching this movie, I kept thinking that a voiceover primer on the political situation in the Middle East at the time would have helped things.
Jon Hamm is a character actor, but that quality suits him well in this type of low-key film. Mason isn't Thomas Devoe or Batman. He's an average guy in a situation he does not want to be in, but knows what to do. His handlers have essentially brought him in to be their puppet, but Mason has a personal investment in finding Cal, and won't let anyone get in his way. This raises the ire of everyone, especially Sandy Crowder (Pike), who has her own reasons for being personally involved (not-so-spoiler alert: her interests are not romantic).
"Beirut" is a serviceable thriller, to be sure, but the screenplay by Tony Gilroy needed another run through the computer to have a better set-up and stronger character development. And Hollywood can really be done with the grainy, shaky cam crap. That was innovative and intense a decade ago, but now it's just irritating.
Even if it was flawless, "Beirut" was never going to be a box office champ. It's not that kind of movie. But for all its problems, I do hope that is successful enough to encourage studios to invest in smaller, more adult-oriented movies. If Hollywood makes them, I promise the audience is out there.
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