I had modest expectations going into "The Mauritanian," a screen adaptation of the book "Guantanamo Diary," which blew the whistle on the U. S. treatment of prisoners of Guantanamo Bay. Usually, if a movie as Oscar-baity as this one fails to receive a single nomination, it's because it's not very good. So call me pleasantly surprised when I discovered the film to be the exact opposite.
To some, "The Mauritanian" will likely be too heavy handed. It's one of those liberal Hollywood diatribes (and I say this as a self-identified liberal progressive) that can be too much even for those who've already bought what the movie is selling. I might have been turned off if I'd been in a different mood when I watched it. But sometimes, the commitment of the people making the movie can overcome its excess earnestness, and that was the case for me here. Among the usual Liberal Activists = Good, U. S. Government and Military = Bad tropes, the film does try for some nuance in its characters. Jodie Foster gives a sensational performance as the attorney dedicated to freeing the film's protagonist, played in an equally wonderful performance by Tahar Rahim, and we're allowed to see that she's unlikable and conflicted. Likewise, Benedict Cumberbatch, as the prosecuting attorney, is introduced as what we're sure is going to be a macho Southern military goon stereotype, complete with unacceptable accent, but the movie subverts our expectations and shows that he's capable of letting personal and patriotic feelings be outweighed by humanitarian ones. Granted, the film does none of this elegantly or delicately, but I just appreciated a story that at least attempted to populate a liberal/conservative issue movie with characters that are more than easy ciphers. The film could probably be criticized as yet another white savior story, and those criticisms would be justified. But it's a damn good one.
Shailene Woodley rounds out the cast as Foster's assistant, and she's excellent as well. The director is Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland"), who has a knack for making blisteringly entertaining movies out of gruesome true event subject matter.
Grade: A.
