Traitor (2008)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Writers (WGA):

Jeffrey Nachmanoff (screenplay)
Steve Martin (story) ...

Release Date:

27 AUGUSZTUS 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The truth is complicated.

Plot:

When straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Bomb | FBI | Devout | FBI Agent

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Don Cheadle	...	Samir Horn
Guy Pearce	...	Roy Clayton
Saïd Taghmaoui	...	Omar
Neal McDonough	...	Max Archer
Alyy Khan	...	Fareed
Archie Panjabi	...	Chandra Dawkin
Raad Rawi	...	Nathir
Hassam Ghancy	...	Bashir
Mozhan Marnò	...	Leyla (as Mozhan Marno)
Adeel Akhtar	...	Hamzi
Jeff Daniels	...	Carter
Lorena Gale	...	Dierdre Horn
Scali Delpeyrat	...	Inspector Gilles
Mehdi Ortelsberg	...	Ali (as Medhi Ortelsberg)
Aizoun Abdelkader	...	Ahmed

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense violent sequences, thematic material and brief language.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44487) | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Singapore:M18 | Germany:12 | Czech Republic:15 | Norway:15 | Finland:K-13 | Ireland:15A | UK:12A | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Overture Films

Trivia:

Co-writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff was eventually asked to direct the film after the original director dropped out.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the FBI agent is talking to Deirdre Horn in the restaurant, a menu sign in the background lists an item as "chicken diner'. It should be "chicken dinner".

Quotes:

Max Archer: [Referring to the bomber captured in Spain] This guy's gotta be in a state of shock. He planned on waking up in Paradise to 72 virgins. Blow yourself up to get laid, this is gotta be some crazy s**t!
Roy Clayton: Where I grew up the Klan burned crosses in front of people's houses and called it Christianity. Then my daddy and the folks from the church would drive over and put them out. Seems every religion has more than one face.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: (#8.30)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Ayadjidjè

An effective and thought provoking thriller thanks to Cheadle

A few years ago, Don Cheadle rose to the top of the acting world with dynamite performances in Hotel Rwanda, the Ocean's series, Crash, and Traffic. He even got to fight in Rush Hour 2! So it should come as no surprise that Cheadle is electrifying and deep in this film, and it is his performance that makes the film what it is: a deeply engrossing political thriller that will definitely make the audience think about the movie, and of course, the current state of affairs in our world.

Traitor did a very good job of stepping on the audience's toes with some lines that could've been considered prejudiced, and then catching themselves with actual truths about the war in the Middle East, in addition to religions themselves. This obviously takes place in the dialog of the characters, particularly those of Cheadle and Guy Pearce. The film's dialog is well written, making up for the sometimes slow pacing scenes that take awhile to transpire.

I've already heaped my praise on Don Cheadle, but I'll do it a little bit more. One of the crucial plot points is the true allegiance of his character, and it is the subtlety of his performance that will keep you guessing what side he is fighting for, though when the answer is finally revealed, you'll think you knew all along. Some call this 'predictable'. I call it great acting. Guy Pearce delivers a winner of a show as well as the straight edge FBI agent chasing after Cheadle, though his character has been done to death, to be honest. Neal McDonough is somewhat annoying in a supporting role as Pearce's partner (though I think Neal is annoying anyway...), while Jeff Daniels is a nice addition to the team. I thought another great performance came from Said Taghmaoui, as Cheadle's terrorist partner. After one of the better villainous performances of the year in Vantage Point, Taghmaoui delivers a performance just as deep and riveting as Cheadle's. This guy is one of the more underrated performers around, and he should get more work outside of being a terrorist.

I like the character development within the script, but I have some issues with the pacing of the film, which I'll take up with our director. The film seemed slow at times, as I was constantly waiting for a particular moment to happen, while 5 pacing scenes would come in the way like a roadblock and just aggravate me a bit. It's nitpicking, but some of the action was a little nauseating because of the camera. STAND STILL, YO! A decent plot twist within the ending of the film doesn't hurt at all, and adds a great element of surprise and depth to some characters.

All in all, Traitor is definitely worth a watch if you're looking to see something different to escape what is usually the graveyard for films...August. Cheadle's performance alone is worth the ticket. Taghmaoui's as well.