Today’s quick review: Traitor. Samir Horn (Don Cheadle), a devout Muslim with a checkered past, strikes up a friendship with Omar (Said Taghmaoui), a member of a terrorist organization. At Omar’s invitation, Samir puts aside his misgivings and joins the organization as a bomb maker. Meanwhile, FBI agents Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce) and Max Archer (Neal McDonough) try to track down Samir, their only lead in a pending terrorist attack.
Traitor is a crime drama with political overtones. The movie aims to be a sober look at the complexities of Islamic terror. In this it is successful, thanks to the range of viewpoints on display, a nuanced protagonist in Samir, and a plot that brings questions of faith and loyalty to the fore. However, Traitor’s slow pacing and restrained, realistic action keep it from holding as much of a thrill as Hollywood’s more fanciful crime movies.
Don Cheadle is the glue that holds the movie together. His performance as Samir Horn captures a great deal of subtlety, and Samir is a rare criminal protagonist who is neither perfectly likable nor entirely irredeemable. Samir walks a fine moral line, with his ever-bloodier terrorist activities on one side and his faith and moral center on the other. The film does a skillful job of pulling him in both directions at once.
But beyond its nuanced protagonist, Traitor is a middling film. The movie skews more towards drama than excitement, but it doesn’t have enough depth to be truly touching. The plot is competently assembled, with one or two decent twists, but it never builds up the momentum or complexity seen in the best crime thrillers. Traitor has few real weaknesses, but its strengths rely heavily on the viewer’s tastes for politics, character drama, and ambiguity.
Give Traitor a shot if you are interested in a somewhat more thoughtful take on terrorism and the issues surrounding it. Traitor’s solid craftsmanship lets it pass as a crime thriller if needed, but its strengths lie in its political and moral questions. For a somewhat more thrilling take on Middle Eastern politics, check out Body of Lies. For a mob drama with a similarly nuanced protagonist, check out Donnie Brasco.
7.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 for solid drama, a well-developed main character, and a decent plot.