The 129 min runtime was really stretched out in the first third quarters, with slow pacing and long dragged out, and often boring scenes. The final quarter was the most interesting and enjoyable, as there was much more substance, and much less filler. At least 20-30 mins needed to be sped up and/or cut down or out.
The directing was ok with great cinematography and score, but I feel there were better directing choices that could've elevated this film to actually make it a "thriller". Even the three writers could've used a once-over by a seasoned writer to tune-up their screenplay.
The lead performances were all very bland, especially Jodie Foster, who seemed bored out of her mind with her monotonic dialogue and flat composure, as was Shailene Woodley. The only good performance was Tahar Rahim in the last quarter of the film. I'm sure the lackluster performances were in part due to director Kevin Macdonald failing to direct his cast properly.
Nevertheless, it's a film I feel everyone should watch, or at least read the novel "Guantánamo Diary" buy the actual detainee, Mohamedou Ould Salahi. It's a generous 7/10 from me.
The directing was ok with great cinematography and score, but I feel there were better directing choices that could've elevated this film to actually make it a "thriller". Even the three writers could've used a once-over by a seasoned writer to tune-up their screenplay.
The lead performances were all very bland, especially Jodie Foster, who seemed bored out of her mind with her monotonic dialogue and flat composure, as was Shailene Woodley. The only good performance was Tahar Rahim in the last quarter of the film. I'm sure the lackluster performances were in part due to director Kevin Macdonald failing to direct his cast properly.
Nevertheless, it's a film I feel everyone should watch, or at least read the novel "Guantánamo Diary" buy the actual detainee, Mohamedou Ould Salahi. It's a generous 7/10 from me.