The Mauritanian (2021)

(Netflix Streaming, July 2022) One fascinating aspect of hitting one’s middle age is a far more personal relationship to history. Having lived through the entire psychotic War on Terror episode of the American government, it’s not as if the infuriating nature of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Centre (still active as of this writing!) was unknown. In fact, I wasn’t looking forward to The Mauritanian: what could a film about a Gitmo prisoner have to say? Are we going to speedrun through the torture, the futility of most detentions, and the extrajudicial loopholes allowed by the base’s special status? Well, yes: The Mauritanian is based on the real story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who was held for fourteen years in Guantanamo Bay and eventually released (after much pressure) to no formal charges. But this depressing story is given fresh interest through a surprisingly compelling execution that brings together an interesting mix of known actors (Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster, Shailene Woodley, Benedict Cumberbatch) and a script that keeps things interesting even when familiar. Rahim is particularly good in a charming trilingual performance: the film would not have worked without a likable actor in the title role, and he makes the most out of his moments. Foster is now firmly typed in power-matriarchal roles, while Woodley seems to be reinventing herself successfully as a character actress—alas, Cumberbatch seems oddly cast in that even his southern-USA accent can’t quite justify why they would cast him in a rather flat role. Still, the film itself holds one’s attention as it goes back and forth between the prisoner and the people working for his release: At a time when the rule of law seems more precarious than ever in the United States, it’s not a bad thing to have a recent example of insurmountable odds from which to draw inspiration. It’s not that good of a film, but at least The Mauritanian overcomes a lot of built-in prejudice against it. It doesn’t feel as much like a rehash of familiar recent history, but approaches solid character-driven drama at times. Alas, one notes that the real-life odyssey of The Mauritanian’s real-world inspiration isn’t over yet—exiled without a passport and separated from his family, he’s still very much still living in the shadow of his Guantanamo Bay detention.