The Siege (1998) 2 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Denzel Washington, Annette Benning, Bruce Willis and Tony Shaulabob. Directed by Edward Zwick.
The most apt way to describe The Siege is to paraphrase a classic line from cartoonist Walt Kelley's famous comic strip, Pogo: We have met the enemy and it is us.
The Siege is a political thriller that raises many questions, most importantly: Does the security of the nation supercede the rights of the individual?
The Siege is a flawed melodrama that gives itself a self-important weight it cannot sustain throughout. Directed by Ed Zwick (Glory),
The story, as the old movie ads dealing with topical subjects used to proclaim, is ripped from today's headlines.
Arab terrorists are creating havoc in New York. They first blow up a bus. Later, an attempt at a school is thwarted. A strike at a Times Square theater kills hundreds. The last straw is the bombing of a federal office building in Manhattan in which 600 people are killed.
The president declares martial law and sends in the military to patrol the streets of Brooklyn, since it is believed this is where the terrorist enclaves are located.
The borough is sealed off, and all Arab men between certain ages are detained in a makeshift detention camp in a sports stadium.
The gung-ho general (Bruce Willis) put in charge of the operation uses whatever means necessary, including torture, to gain information from suspected terrorists.
Meanwhile a straight-arrow FBI agent (Denzel Washington) and a mysterious CIA operative (Annette Benning) who, of course, knows more than she lets on, work separately to resolve the case so Willis and his GI Joes can be withdrawn and Brooklyn can return to normal - if that's possible.
The problem with Zwick's film is a lack of subtlety. It emblazons its IMPORTANT MESSAGE in letters big enough for filmgoers in the back row to read. The film's simplistic moral: freedom good, persecution bad.
It doesn't help matters that at times Willis' troops are shown acting like boot-jack Nazis, pushing people at gunpoint into trucks and carting them away.
However, in fairness, Zwick does show the Arab-American community in a favorable light, as its leaders seek to cooperate with the authorities to end the bombings.
Actually, the acting honors are stolen by Tony Shaulabob, as Washington's partner, a Lebanese-American with a wry wit and dry sense of humor. When his 13-year-old son is interned, Shaulabob's disillusionment with his adopted country is shattering.
Washington is the film's moral compass, a righteous, dedicated official who wants to end the bombings, bring the perpetrators to justice, but by means that are within the letter of the law.
Benning's character seems unfocused. One minute she seems to be a step ahead of Washington and his agents, the next she appears uncertain of her objective.
Willis is cold and rigid as the soldier who carries out his distasteful duty with a bit too much enthusiasm. Considering that earlier in the film he gave a short speech indicating his disdain for such an assignment, that he would perform it with such gusto appears inconsistent with his character.
The Siege is no political diatribe. It tries to be fair to all sides, and makes an effort to offend no one. This nullifies some of it impact.
Also, its pace is slow and uneven. At just under two hours, The Siege, at times, seems to become one.
Taken for what it is, The Siege is a decent endeavor. Better editing and more spine, though, could have raised it higher.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or cbloom@iquest.net
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