The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Movie Review

Rating: 3 out of 5

A terrific story is compromised by the demands of commercial filmmaking, adding action-thriller scenes to what should be an introspective drama while distractingly beefing up side-roles for American stars. But at the centre is another superb performance from Riz Ahmed (Four Lions), who again takes a complex, challenging approach to the subject of terrorism.

The narrative is fragmented into flashbacks as Changez (Ahmed) tells his story to an American journalist (Schreiber) in Pakistan while a tense hostage situation swirls all around them. Years earlier, Changez was a high-flying Pakistani student, graduating from Princeton and landing a prestigious job on Wall Street when an executive (Sutherland) recognises his talent. He also has a sexy artist girlfriend (Hudson). But all of this is shaken after the 9/11 attacks, when he is harassed by police and immigration officials. Fundamentally changed, he returns to Lahore to become a lecturer in violent uprisings. But this makes the CIA think that he's become a terrorist himself. Perhaps he has.

The various strands of the story are intriguing, and the actors are all watchable as they add layers to Changez's overall story. But the jumbled structure of the film reduces the narrative to a series of seemingly unrelated scenes. Hudson and Sutherland are solid but add little beyond their characters' stereotypical American reactions to Changez's decisions. The always superb Schreiber is better used as a more shady figure. But other characters vanish just when they get interesting, such as Changez's parents, played by acting legends Puri and Azmi.

Fortunately, Ahmed is so good in the central role that we are gripped by Changez's journey. His internalised performance helps us get under the character's skin, feeling his emotional confusion and understanding his difficult decisions. Yes, the film is a vital, provocative exploration of both the War on Terror and, even more intriguingly, the fragility of the American Dream. And director Nair keeps every scene taut and suggestive while expertly capturing the settings. But the choppy narrative, watered-down casting and some corny plotting (including an unnecessarily explosive finale) leave us little to really think about.

Rich Cline

Facts and Figures

Year: 2013

Genre: Thriller

Run time: 130 mins

In Theaters: Friday 3rd May 2013

Box Office USA: $0.5M

Box Office Worldwide: $519.5 thousand

Distributed by: IFC Films

Production compaines: Mirabai Films, Doha Film Institute, Cine Mosaic

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 3 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 53%
Fresh: 49 Rotten: 43

IMDB: 6.9 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: Mira Nair

Producer: Lydia Dean Pilcher

Screenwriter: William Wheeler

Starring: Riz Ahmed as Changez, Kate Hudson as Erica, Kiefer Sutherland as Jim, Liev Schreiber as Bobby, Nelsan Ellis as Wainwright, Martin Donovan as Ludlow Cooper, Christopher Nicholas Smith as Mike Rizzo, Om Puri as Abu, Shabana Azmi as Ammi, Haluk Bilginer as Nazmi Kemal, Meesah Shafi as Bina

Also starring: Lydia Dean Pilcher, William Wheeler