The Mauritanian

 2/4

Starring: Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim, Shailene Woodley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zachary Levi

Rated R for Violence including a Sexual Assault, and Language

The longer "The Mauritanian" goes on, the less it has to offer.  It starts off as an intelligent a true life miscarriage of justice, but its non-judgmental approach gives way to outrage and grandstanding, that while justified, feel phony.  Passion and personal emotion should never give way to good storytelling.  That's what separates movies like "Schindler's List" and "Only the Brave" from "The Mauritanian."

Renowned lawyer Nancy Hollander (Foster) gets asked a favor: there is a man suspected of terrorism named Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Rahim) who has been held at Guantanamo Bay for years without trial, and she is asked to look into it.  She does as her personal pro bono case, despite it being only a few years after 9/11.  Her reasoning is that everyone deserves a fair trial, no matter what they are charged with.  The US government, on the other hand, believes he was the main recruiter behind the 9/11 attacks and will do anything to put a needle in his arm.  For that, they assign the case to a by the book marine lawyer named Stuart Couch (Cumberbatch).  Both of them make horrifying discoveries that make them question their values.

One thing that makes "The Mauritanian" a rather unique experience is the honest portrayal of the characters.  Slahi is miserable, but hopeful, and yet he may not be telling the truth.  Nancy doesn't seem to care about her client personally, but rather that he is being treated fairly by the courts.  The best rounded character is Stuart, who goes digging where he isn't supposed to, but only so he has an iron-clad case.  There are a few characters that argue for the "rough justice" approach, but they're in the background.  Unfortunately this moral complexity fades into melodrama and grandstanding.  In an attempt to make this movie into a crowd-pleaser, director Kevin Macdonald loses the neutral point of view that makes the film so interesting.

Perhaps this movie simply came out too late.  We know a lot of what happened to prisoners and anyone suspected of terror.  Waterboarding, sexual abuse, and sleep deprivation?  We know about that.  The government being complicit in denying basic rights to the accused?  That information came out fifteen years ago.  Horrific as it is, it is such common knowledge that it no longer shocks.  To be fair, the events took place when the public was unaware of the horrors unleashed by the Bush and Obama administrations.  That's not an excuse, though.  It's up to the director to make sure his audience sees old wounds with fresh eyes.  Even viewed 10 years after the events took place, Alex Gibney's documentary about the torture sanctioned by the US government ("Taxi to the Dark Side," in case you were wondering) was still capable of producing horror and outrage.  "The Mauritanian" does not.

At least it has the benefit of solid performances.  The ever choosy Jodie Foster appears for the second time in almost a decade, showing that she has lost none of her spunk or talent.  This isn't a great performance, nor is the role worthy of her talents, but it's great to see her on screen again.  Tahar Rahim has the most complete arc, and makes it easy to sympathize with his plight.  Shailene Woodley doesn't have a lot to do other than be a sidekick to Foster.  Benedict Cumberbatch continues to display his range and avoids the "arrogant but awkward, love to hate him" jerk he was at risk of being typecast as.  Stuart is a Southern boy with enough integrity that he will do the right thing no matter where it leads him.  Zachary Levi is unrecognizable as Stuart's friend with a secret.

Most films that fail to work are lacking on the script level, and "The Mauritanian" is no exception.  There's a lot of jargon, but that isn't the same thing as intelligence.  Nor does generating outrage demand the sacrifice of a film's even-handedness (in many cases, it requires it).  And the need for a crowd-pleasing ending never justifies sloppy storytelling.  Kevin Macdonald, who is a skilled documentarian but has had mixed success with narrative films, fails to recognize this.

In the end, "The Mauritanian" is simply mediocre.  The acting is strong, but the story is badly put together and doesn't tell us anything we don't already know.  With stronger character identification, it might have worked better.  As of right now, it feels like a rush job meant to capitalize on the new market for any adaptation of a big news event.

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