Traitor

Posted on March 23, 2009 at 10:35 am by lkeddie | Permalink

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Released 27th March 2009

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Sir Ridley Scott attempted it last year with Body of Lies. Now writer/director Jeffrey Nachmanoff has pulled it off by portraying the multi-national, trans-border nature of international terrorism in Traitor, one of the most accurate, non-convoluted fictional depictions of the present-day terrorism threat that this ex-Criminology/Terrorism-Studies student has ever had the privilege of watching. Traitor tells it how it is, with only the mere gloss of Bourne-style action-adventure to whip up adrenaline and pace.

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Don Cheadle as former U.S. Special Operations officer Samir Horn is awesome, commanding the screen in one of his best performances to date, and adding just the right combination of courage, determination, despair and humbling humanity to the role. He accurately depicts what experts claim a ‘terrorist’ is: indefinable and from all walks of life. In addition, Horn’s journey to his present predicament is complicated and less than straightforward, emphasising Nachmanoff’s commendable research into such matters and his exquisite script-writing skills that keep us guessing, twisting and turning with the plot, until the final reveal. We are never sure whether to completely dislike or distrust Cheadle’s chameleon character from the beginning - a credit to the actor’s talents. There is more to Horn than meets the eye. The plot is that dynamic and enthralling that the (now obvious) ending is actually far from clear during the film.

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Supporting cast in Guy Pearce and Neal McDonough (Desperate Housewives‘ creepy Dave Williams) as FBI agents Roy Clayton and Max Archer, and Saïd Taghmaoui as terror master Omar provide superb and credible performances throughout, reaching into the core of their characters’ beings. Taghmaoui could so easily have reverted to the misguided Western view of the pyschotic and tyrannical Islamist extremist, but successfully chooses to portray more depth and reason to his character’s thinking - in an ironic sense, creating an unlikely oxymoron; a ‘terrorist with a conscience’.

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Traitor also does not pander to the American and Western establishments’ Islamic stereotypes, as such, with the bus terrorists representing the faces of men and women of all different races, united in a controversial belief system. But it does build on the public fear of this faceless ‘enemy’. Nachmanoff’s ending also reframes from Western moralism, merely suggesting that finding any faith is what can overcome fear and resentment. In this sense, Hollywood has adopted an adult stance on the current global terror situation, whilst delivering a well-executed and entertaining film.

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As one line from the film states: “Terrorism is theatre, and theatre is always performed for an audience”. It is about provoking a response. Traitor totally does just this. Stamped with this critic’s seal of approval for a brilliant plot and exceptional acting, Traitor is simply an all-round consistent, believable and exhilarating suspense thriller that, thankfully, resists the temptation to preach, and is actually one of the first feature films in memory that attempts to concentrate on the Islamist extremists’ psychology, and not just on the horrific impact their atrocities. Do not miss!

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By Lisa Keddie

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Synopsis

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When straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton (Pearce) heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn (Cheadle). A mysterious figure with a web of connections to terrorist organizations, Horn has a knack for emerging on the scene just as a major operation goes down.

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The inter-agency task force looking into the case meets with Carter (Jeff Daniels), a veteran CIA contractor who seemingly has his own agenda and Max Archer (McDonough), a fellow FBI agent. The task force links Horn to a prison break in Yemen, a bombing in Nice and a raid in London, but a tangle of contradictory evidence emerges, forcing Clayton to question whether his quarry is a disaffected former military operative-or something far more complicated.

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Obsessed with discovering the truth, Clayton tracks Horn across the globe as the elusive ex-soldier burrows deeper and deeper into a world of shadows and intrigue.

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Film Facts

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Official site: http://www.traitor-movie.co.uk/

UK Release Date: 27th March 2009

Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Writer: Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Cast: Don Cheadle (’Samir Horn’), Guy Pearce (’Roy Clayton’), Simon Reynolds (’Ted Blake’), Jeff Daniels (’Carter’), Neal McDonough (’Max Archer’), Archie Panjabi (’Chandra Dawkin’), Alyy Kahn (’Fareed Mansour’), Said Taghmaoui (’Omar’), Mozhan Marno (’Leyla’)