I caught the preview screening at AFI Monday night. This film was certainly not what I was expecting. I drove there thinking, "Hostile, Saw III, Touristas ... you can make it through the movie Lizzy ... just close your eyes for the parts that gross you out." But this film turned out to be no mere gross-fest. Culled from the descriptions of torture and tactics used on those released or interviewed at Gitmo and Abu Graib, this film weaves a chillingly realistic tale of the plausible, sadistic, and alarmingly unchecked torment; exacted in the name of Homeland Security.
And while the visual content disturbed, more intense was the performance of Lena Bookall; who we watch deteriorate while she masterfully pulls us into her torment and mental dismemberment. Lena, without question, drove this movie ... straight into a crash course with our consciences.
You walk out of this movie and your first thoughts are less on the goriness rather, they lead to questions which ask, "If I hear that this goes on, and see it on the news, why doesn't it get stopped? What can I do to stop it? Am I indifferent because I did not see the suffering for myself? Is it easier to dismiss if we do not see?" The beauty of this movie is, that you WILL see. So intensely that you will believe you are witnessing reality.
When this movie is released, it should be on your must-see list.
And while the visual content disturbed, more intense was the performance of Lena Bookall; who we watch deteriorate while she masterfully pulls us into her torment and mental dismemberment. Lena, without question, drove this movie ... straight into a crash course with our consciences.
You walk out of this movie and your first thoughts are less on the goriness rather, they lead to questions which ask, "If I hear that this goes on, and see it on the news, why doesn't it get stopped? What can I do to stop it? Am I indifferent because I did not see the suffering for myself? Is it easier to dismiss if we do not see?" The beauty of this movie is, that you WILL see. So intensely that you will believe you are witnessing reality.
When this movie is released, it should be on your must-see list.
- Liz