Everybody Uses the Palestinians
Review of The Siege
Seen on 29 December 1998 by myself at the Cineplex Worldwide for $3
*The Siege* gives us a "what-if" scenario ripped from today's headlines. As one of its characters says, "everybody uses the Palestinians." What would happen if terrorism hit hard on the domestic front, and the army had to declare martial law in New York City?
Apparently, it would be laden with inter-agency squabbling with impromptu roundups and concentration camps for suspect minorities.
>From the get-go, the Arabs are the enemy, and in retaliation for blowing up the US facility in Darhan, Saudi Arabia, the US abducts Sheik Ahmed Bin Talal, a terrorist mastermind. In demanding his release, his supporters start a terror campaign in New York City. Buses, a theatre, even a federal building, are blown up. Parents take their kids out of schools, and backfiring buses send people running for cover.
The FBI is, as always, Hollywood's choice of good guy, and leading the investigation is Anthony Hubbard (call him Hub), played by a stalwart, earnest Denzel Washington. Tony Shalhoub plays his fellow FBI officer Frank Haddad, a Lebanese-American. The minority buddy thing works here. Certainly better than *Lethal Weapon 4*.
Had the movie merely been a beat-the-clock investigation while the Army rounded up Arabs in Brooklyn, it might have worked better. However, there is the sometimes confusing three-way conflict of Annette Benning's character, CIA personnel named either Elise Kraft or Sharon Bridger. Her love of Arab culture, knowledge of Arabic, and carnal knowledge of Samir Nazhde (Sami Bouajila) throws in the additional twist of "whose side is she on, anyway?" Also tossed in is the bickering in DC over how to proceed, whether to declare martial law at all.
The Siege touches on a lot of themes, and the most important of these is how we view "the enemy among us," but it is done without a real examination of Arab culture. For example, Haddad has a family event, clearly muslim, to which he invites his co-workers, but it is not clear what the event it. Meanwhile, in the opening scenes, a "menacing mosque" is revealed to be in Brooklyn, with the World Trade Center in the background. The best scene, in which Haddad tries to locate his son after he's been taken from his home, shows the turmoil of being from an alien culture, and realizing that you are not as assimilated or accepted as you thought you were. "I am not your partner; I'm a sand nigger," he wails to Hub while seeking his incarcerated son.
After the requisite countdowns and car chases, there's the obligatory victory of Right over Wrong, as Hubbard trumps army bad guy General William Devereaux (Bruce Willis in a remarkably restrained performance that is not annoying).
While *The Siege* is not a bad film--the tension is well sustained, especially in the exploding bus scene--it is formulaic and simplistic. The use of location shooting for Manhattan and Brooklyn goes a long way to make it a bit more compelling and realistic.
Sidenote: Annette Benning has never looked worse. Her "Pope Joan" crewcut does not suit her. She also maintains a monotonously incredulous look that begets a disappointed latte consumer than a CIA operative.
More movie reviews by Seth Bookey, with graphics, can be found at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2679/kino.html
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