The Mauritanian (2021)

Film: The Mauritanian (2021)

Stars: Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim, Shailene Woodley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zachary Levi

Director: Kevin Macdonald

Oscar History: Despite Jodie Foster winning a Golden Globe, the film received no Oscar nominations. This is the first time the Globe winner in this category didn't get in with AMPAS since 1976.

Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

We are one week away from the Oscar nominations FINALLY being announced.  This is a blog that devotes an inordinate amount of time not just to the Oscars, but to the individual films that are nominated at the Oscars (we're less concerned about following the minutia of the actual race as other sites with access to publicists cover that well, hence no Globes article this week, but I will be publishing my final predictions at some point in the next seven days).  Inevitably there will be OVP contenders I haven't seen-I know for a fact that I haven't seen enough International Feature Film nominees to come out of this completely done, and I'm currently predicting some films I haven't seen in at least the Original Song & Makeup categories, but I'm goaling myself to watch at least a couple more films that I think are in contention before Monday, and we'll be profiling them throughout this week as I watch my final 2021 screenings before playing "catchup mode."  One of the last films of the race we have to profile is The Mauritanian, a movie that gained much more prominence after the recent Golden Globes with Jodie Foster's surprise victory.

(Spoilers Ahead) The Mauritanian is based on the true story of Mohamedou Ould Salahi (Rahim), a man captured by the US government & held for 14 years in Guantanamo Bay under initially hazy grounds, with us eventually realizing that he is wrongfully imprisoned.  Despite the fact that "things like that don't happen in America" Salahi is kept in jail without due process for over a decade, and the only people who attempt to help him are Nancy Hollander (Foster) and her assistant Teri (Woodley), not because they believe him at first but because they believe in the rule of law.  As the film unfolds, though, they understand that he is not only innocent, but what is happening in Guantanamo Bay defies every convention of the rule-of-law, and bringing that to light becomes the most important aspect of the case.

The film is a fascinating story, but it's proof that a compelling story doesn't always make for a strong movie.  The movie highlights the national shame that is Guantanamo Bay, which I think will someday rank amongst the truly worst atrocities of not just the Bush, but also the Obama & Trump administrations for letting it stay open (Joe Biden-please close this national stain down)...but it rarely gives us a story with a lot of newness you didn't already know.  The reveals don't read as shock so soon after this happened.

Tahar Rahim is kind of acting in another movie, he's so much better than his costars; he finds a rage & personality in his character that you don't usually see from a movie like this (where we expect him to simply play the frustrated victim); anyone who saw him in A Prophet knew he could do this, but this hopefully will open doors up to American audiences with this.  Foster could play this in her sleep but it's not going to rank amongst her best work (and it'd be weird if she got a third Oscar for this), and Woodley is incredibly dull.  Worst of the bunch is Cumberbatch, sporting a terrible Southern accent, who brings none of the depth to his work that Rahim is doing in every corner of the movie.  Cumberbatch, not my favorite but someone whose natural cadence is musical onscreen, should avoid playing Americans in the future as this is clearly not his strong suit.