The Mauritanian
2021
***½
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Cast: Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim, Shailene Woodley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zachary Levi, Saamer Usmani, Corey Johnson, Denis Menochet, David Fynn, Walter van Dyk
In 2002, a Mauritanian man named Mohamedou Ould Slahi was arrested and incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay detention camp without charges. In 2005, American defense attorney Nancy Hollander agrees to defend him, but she is dismayed that all the evidence against her client is classified. Kevin Macdonald's real-life drama, which is based on Slahi's 2015 memoir Guantanamo Diary, shows the human cost of the U.S. government's unrelenting pursuit of justice after 9/11. The film is gripping but very matter-of-fact. Tahar Rahim gives a commanding performance.
