by Andrew Clarke

Last updated 12:21, Thursday, 02 October 2008

THE United States government does not torture people – so says Meryl Streep’s character, the head of US intelligence in new thriller Rendition, but the truth, it seems, is not as black and white she would have us believe.

The film centres around the detaining and ruthless interrogation, by the government, of an Egyptian-born American scientist, who is suspected of being involved in a suicide bombing that kicks off the film.

The lines between right and wrong are blurred and, as a subject matter, it is extremely topical and really makes the viewer evaluate how far it is morally right to go to extract information that could potentially save thousands of lives.

“Information obtained in this manner saved 7,000 lives in London last year,” adds Corrine Whitman (Streep) later in the film, as the pressure on her, and the methods she has approved, builds.

Following the bombing in Africa, the scientist Anwar El-Ibrahimi, played by Omar Metwally, is snatched by airport officials on his return to the US and bundled off to a secret location.

Despite his seemingly genuine protestations of innocence, Anwar is drowned, electrocuted and treat like an animal until he gives the interrogators the information they want to hear.

Rendition is a film that really makes you think. By its nature, it’s not always the most comfortable film to watch as the torture scenes are played out in unflinching detail.

But it is a genuinely interesting thriller which addresses some valid moral issues in terms of national security.