Susan Granger’s review of “The Mauritanian” (STX Films)
Based on Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s best-selling memoir – “Guantanamo Diary” – “The Mauritanian” chronicles the cruelty of one man’s capture, the inhumanity of his incarceration and brutality of his interrogation – without ever being officially charged with any crime.
Because German-educated electrical engineer Mohamedou Slahi (Tahar Rahim), a Mauritanian citizen, is suspected of recruiting the al-Qaeda hijackers who participated in the 9/11 World Trade Center mission, Lt. Colonel Stuart Crouch (Benedict Cumberbatch) is eager to prosecute the ‘killer’ of his best friend.
Slahi’s pleas of innocence draw the attention of Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster), an ACLU lawyer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who tackles his ‘pro bono’ case, along with her junior associate, Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley), eventually enabling him to become the first detainee to sue the goverment, President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Both Crouch and Hollander are determined to proceed with a fair trial but they’re systematically stonewalled by steely US secrecy throughout their preparatory investigative process. Hollander observes, “They built this place (Gitmo) out of the reach of the court for a reason.”
Adapted by Michael Bronner (using the pseudonym M.B. Traven), Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, it’s directed by Kevin Macdonald (“The Last King of Scotland,” “One Day in September,” “Touching the Void”) as a legal procedural, peppered with horrific flashback scenes of the mental and physical torture that ‘the Mauritanian’ endured for more than 70 days at the hands of his American captors.
French-Algerian actor Tahar Rahim (“A Prophet”) delivers an astonishing, raw-nerved performance as a man pushed to the edge – and beyond.
Mohamedou Ould Slahi was freed in October, 2016, after 14 years. Another 40 men are still being held without trial in Guantanamo, although no U.S. government agency has ever admitted any responsibility or apology. Of the 779 prisoners incarcerated, only eight have been convicted; the cases against three were overturned on appeal.
In English, French and Arabic, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Mauritanian” is a seriously grim, staggeringly relevant 7 – with several Golden Globe nominations to its credit.
