9/11 has inspired a great deal of cinematic response in recent years with filmmakers attempting to grapple with the political and social ramifications of the defining moment of the 21st century. While some films have grappled with the American heroes ("World Trade Center," "United 93"), some have been more forward about portraying the effects of the ensuing wars ("The Hurt Locker," "Zero Dark Thirty," "Green Zone'). Director Mira Nair's "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" chooses to examine another perspective: the cultural divide that was created as a result of the catastrophe.
The film races off to a furious start with the abduction of an American professor in Lahore. Immediately after, Bobby Lincoln (Live Schreiber), CIA agent covering as a journalist, sets out to find information on the professor's whereabouts and meets with a Pakistani professor Changez Khan at a local tea house where a student protest is brewing. As Bobby converses with Changez, a CIA group listens in nearby preparing to raid the place if needed.
It is at this point that the film takes a major turn and shifts the focus from the captured professor's fate to the story of Changez's growth into an influential leader at the University. Changez tells Bobby that he left Pakistan at age 18 to find better opportunities in the United States. He graduates from Princeton and becomes a top-tier business analyst that values other businesses. His rise in the financial world coincides with his growth in influential social circles where he meets Erica (Kate Hudson), the love of his life. The fulfillment of the American dream seems imminent for Changez, but 9/11 comes about and his life in the United States takes a turn for the worst. From here, Nair portrays the unjust treatment of Changez and his increasing feeling of being an outsider. In America, he is a stereotype while in Pakistan his own father sees his line of work as immoral.
Changez's rise and fall in American society is engrossing but the injustices he faces wind up feeling a bit exaggerated and even exploitative after a while. Changez is subjected to a number of dehumanizing events including one in an airport. However, later in the story he is arrested after another Arab man curses American pedestrians. A stranger calls the police and when they arrive, they grab Changez without even letting him speak. Complications in Changez and Erica's relationship also result from Middle Eastern stereotypes even though there other major (even cross-cultural) issues between them. Instead of dealing with those in deeper fashion, Nair decides to impose the American stereotyping to aggravating effect. The viewer understands that there was a great deal of injustice toward the Middle Eastern culture shortly after the events of 9/11, but Nair does exactly the same thing that she is fighting against. No one would indict the entire Middle Eastern population for the acts of a few and no one should generalize American behavior toward the Islamic population either; Nair indulges in the latter in an imposing manner.
During the course of Changez's narrative, Nair cuts back to the present time to remind the viewer that there is a major issue on hand. The problem is that compared to the refreshing immigrant's tale, the other important events feel distant and uninteresting. The viewer knows little about the professor's life at stake (and as a result cares little for it) nor does he/she have any real understanding of what the student protest is about either (and consequently cares little for it either). Because of this, the interruptions do little to heighten the suspense and instead halt the otherwise smooth pacing of the storytelling. When Changez's story comes to an end, the protest and raid take center stage, but they do little to compel the viewer in anyway because Nair does little to elaborate on the problems at hand. The professor (should be called MacGuffin) remains unknown to the viewer and the protest is never really developed in a way to make one connect with it. The ultimate twist falls flat simply because it is of little consequence to the viewer emotionally and actually makes no sense in the context of the story.
(MAJOR PLOT SPOILER)
If you have received Intel of the whereabouts of the aforementioned victim earlier in the day, then why would you prepare to raid a tea house to capture the person that is supposed to tell you the location? More importantly, why are you proceeding to capture a person you previously learned was not involved in the terrorist organization that captured your prisoner?
(PLOT SPOILER ENDS)
During the film's coda, Nair indulges in providing the viewer with a preachy speech urging unity and tolerance.
Despite the script's numerous faults, the film is bountiful in other departments. Riz Ahmed proves to be the perfect actor to carry the viewer through the journey. Changez begins his journey as a confident, energetic fellow but as the story progresses that aloofness gives way to weariness; the beard he slowly grows almost looks like a heavy burden that he is forced to wear. Despite the fact that he is probably only in his mid to late 30s by the time the narrative and film come to an end, he looks like he might have aged an extra 20 years; the voice has dropped and even his pace is slightly lethargic. The rest of the performances, ranging from Kate Hudson's emotionally unstable Erica to Kiefer Sutherland's cold and calculating Jim Cross (Changez's boss) add dynamic to the narrative thrust. Even Schreiber, who winds up with little more than 20 minutes of screen time adds a vulnerability to the confident Bobby.
Visually, the film is stunning with its depictions of the two worlds portrayed in contrasting color and style. The Western world is dominated by a cooler palette while the forays into the Middle East are littered with brighter and warmer colors; it's almost romantic and otherworldly against the structured American world. For example, the wedding ceremony of Changez's sister is set under a bright red tent. The only scenes that hint at this warmth are the love scenes between Erica and Changez. One of the most powerful images in the film shows Changez looking through glass at televisions in the airport detainment area. As he puts his clothes back on, the images on the television depict the atrocities of 9/11. They reflect on the window and seem to dominate Changez, almost overwhelming him (A brief frame of this shot can be seen above).
While the immigrant story is familiar to many viewers from other similar portrayals, it provides a refreshing angle that has not been given much attention in modern-day cinema. Unfortunately, the larger context and storyline of the film gets little dramatic attention and ultimately hinders the quality of the work.
"The Reluctant Fundamentalist" screens at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, 24, and 27.
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