Can a thriller in truth be a thriller without thrills? Better yet, seat an international spy account really come through by purposefully getting us to sympathize with the enemy? That's the duple edged steel being wielded by Jeffrey Nachmanoff with his novel film Traitor. Even the title offers yet some other bit of bifurcation -- on the one manus we hold a deeply religious military personnel (Don Cheadle) working with terrorists to blow up Americans. On the other, we see how he uses his faith as a means of undermining the group's most trigger-happy objectives. Of course, this doesn't make the tale interesting or exciting. Sometimes, just beingness different doesn't save you from existence dull.
Samir Horn (Cheadle) was 12 when his churchman father was killed by a railroad car bomb. After years struggling with Islam, he becomes an explosives expert, working within a radical sect. When FBI agents Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce) and Max Archer (Neal McDonough) storm their headquarters in Yemen, Samir and his cohorts ar jailed. Soon, he is befriended by Omar (Said Taghmaoui) world Health Organization recruits him to bring together his latest mission. Under the counsel of leadership Fareed (Aly Khan) and Nathir (Raad Rawi), Samir will construct 50 bombs, each one destined for a trip on a U.S. cross-country bus amount Thanksgiving. As a valet de chambre of conscience (and secrets), involvement in such a plot will test every fiber of his existence -- and his loyalties.
As much as it wants to military position itself as the "thought process man's action film," Traitor actually betrays all signs of ingeniousness. In fact, it oftentimes over-rationalizes its ideas, leaving the audience limp from lack of excitement. We know something is up with Cheadle's Samir the moment we see him, and every action he then takes seems calculated and controlled by influences outside our narrative purview. Indeed, as it passes along as a formality, peeling away the obvious layers from its proposed puzzle box seat plot, we keep waiting for the moment when the storyline's other shoe drops. Sadly, when it does, we've already figured out the twist.
That's because Traitor spends so much time apologizing for Islam, dragging out ancillary characters who rightly champion the religion's peaceful and convinced messages. On the leaf side, this means there's less room for suspense or entertainment. There is nothing haywire with apologizing for people who survey all Westerners as devil targets -- especially when you place their political agenda lame into every conversation. But when the entire moving picture revolves around rooting for (or against) the success of a massive felo-de-se bombing campaign, you're request a circle from the popcorn and nacho crowd.
Cheadle is no help here, his glowering persona purposefully geared to make his accomplice more acceptable. While many of his gestures seem clamorous (he gives a hungry prisoner his food), the actor does try to complicate his character. But again, he does so to the detriment of the intrigue. Since Samir is such an honourable and decent man, we can't think him committing mass mutilate. Even as he appears to be preparing for the act, we inherently suspect another course of action.
As a director, Nachmanoff is non good at such misdirection. He wears his adumbration right out on his cinematic sleeve. Granted, we don't anticipate much from the man who co-scripted Roland Emmerich's dopey The Day After Tomorrow, just in a current climate of "us vs. them," Nachmanoff's conservative approach only muddies the clash. It's hard to be pushed to the edge of your seat when the moralizing and mean game good guys (Pearce and McDonough are appropriately angry Americans) keep pushing you back.
Most healthy people understand that at that place is a clear contradiction between dogma and the interpreted right to demolish. By pickings both sides seriously, Traitor might be reasonable, but it's far from involving.
Not sure... do we have Prince Albert in a can?
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