A thought-provoking – yet flawed – exploration of the wide-ranging impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks both on individuals and on whole cultures. In 2011 Pakistan, a journalist (Liev Schreiber) has been recruited by the CIA to interview the chief suspect (Riz Ahmed) in the kidnapping of an American professor. Things may not be as they appear, however, as the self-professedly peace-loving radical recounts his experiences in the United States – including his meteoric rise to the top within a wicked corporation (run by Kiefer Sutherland), his romance with a bohemian artist (Kate Hudson), and his fall from corporate grace as a result of post-Twin Towers discrimination. Working from the novel by Mohsin Hamid, director Mira Nair lets the audience pass judgment, for better or worse. The result is an absorbing story with a flawed conclusion – one that seems to prioritize the force of circumstance over conscience when choosing between good and evil.
Watch out for: Fleeting action violence and gunplay, a gruesome image, brief sensuality, some profane and crass language.
Rated: A-III, adults; MPAA: R, restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
