Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Brad Anderson, Roadshow Entertainment.
Cast: Joe Hamm, Rosamund Pike, Mark Pellegrino, Dean Norris, Shea Whigham.
Clichéd it may be, but Beirut is not just another film where the Middle East is used for a backdrop, featuring badly behaved guys.
There should be more films where focus is placed on storytelling about the art of dealing with people in a sensitive and tactful way, international statesmanship and political forthrightness.
This drama is more about the protagonist and the cause, rather than the assessment of the place.
In 1972 Beirut, Mason Skiles (Hamm, Mad Men), a happy American diplomat, hosts a cocktail party accompanied by his wife and Karim, the 13-year old Lebanese orphan whom they hope to adopt. The festivities are disrupted when Mason’s best friend, CIA agent Cal Riley (Pellegrino) arrives with startling information about Karim. Seconds later, terrorists attack the party with tragic results.
The devastating news about Karim is that he’s the younger brother of a known terrorist, the man responsible for orchestrating the Munich Olympics attack. What’s more, there’s strong evidence Karim has been in contact with his sibling.
This is unsettling news as Mason is trying to negotiate a peaceful way to extricate Karim safely and not disrupt his party or his family. However, after Karim’s brother’s people turn up all hell breaks loose: Mason’s wife is shot and Karim is taken.
Ten years later and Mason is an alcoholic, working labour disputes in Boston.
Unexpectedly he’s contacted and told that he’s needed in Beirut. The city is now a disastrous nightmare to live in, with various factions wanting to seek control. This is the backdrop for the crisis when Mason is informed that Cal has been kidnapped, and the man responsible is the now-grown Karim (Idir Chender). Diplomacy takes on new meaning.
This is a shrewd drama that doesn’t depend on car crashes or shootouts for its sense of propelling action. With direction by expert filmmaker Brad Anderson (The Machinist, The Call) and a clever, opaque screenplay by Tony Gilroy, this political thriller is an enjoyable combination of zigzag, invigorating talk and propelling action.
