MOVIE OF THE WEEK #1: GUY RITCHIE'S THE COVENANT (4/21/23)
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| "They may not know my name yet, but they will come awards season – bank on it!" Ahmed (Dar Salim) in a rare moment of rest in a scene from GUY RITCHIE'S THE COVENANT. Credit: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
DIRECTOR: Guy Ritchie
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dar Salim, Emily Beecham, Alexander Ludwig, Jonny Lee Miller and Anthony Starr
THE BACK STORY: In months following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on America, Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his squad have one job while deployed in Afghanistan: Find IED (improvised explosive devices) factories and destroy them before the Taliban can use them against civilians and/or he and his fellow U.S. military forces. Of course, not being native to the land or knowing the language, that makes their reliance on interpreters (do NOT simply call them translators) crucial. Ahmed (Dar Salim) is one such interpreter and one of hundreds working under the hope of what they were promised: Visas for themselves and their families to be able to leave their war torn homeland and leave for the safety of the United States.
Needing a new interpreter for his squad, John takes on Ahmed at the recommendation of commanding officer Vokes (Jonny Lee Miller). Any skepticism he has about Ahmed quickly dissipates, however, once he proves himself to be a strong ally to he and his troops cause. And that's a good thing – for once the squad embarks on a dangerous mission, John finds himself badly injured on the run from the Taliban, leaving one man and one man alone able to save him.
So what happens when John finds himself in a position where Ahmed needs saving and there's only one man up to the task to do so? As the film illustrates in remarkable detail, an epic tale of humanity that crosses cultures, languages and continents.
THE REVIEW: If Dar Salim is not nominated for a Best Supporting Actor – or arguably, even the Best Actor – award come 2024, it will be as much of a shame as the real story of what happened to the hundreds of interpreters that helped the U.S. military during the 20 year occupation of Afghanistan/the Middle East. Not familiar with those stories in real life? There is plenty out there about them.
Those horrific, harrowing realities notwithstanding, it's not hard to understand why Guy Ritchie wanted his name included in the film's title. For with THE COVENANT, Ritchie delivers a near perfect military drama that avoids nearly every pitfall found in many wartime dramas. There are no chest-thumping, machismo on steroids, Team America: World Police theme song moments (which in and of itself was a parody of the very films I'm being critical of – link also NSFW); instead, THE COVENANT is raw, gritty and unflinching at showing the danger soldiers and civilians faced at the hands of the Taliban WHILE showing the humanity and risks both America's military and the Afghans helping them faced.
Salim's performance as Ahmed is outstanding from start to finish. Save for a cult-like devotion to political ideals, it's impossible to deny the proverbial gamut of emotions an audience will undertake as a direct result of his portrayal. That, however, is no way to suggest that Gyllenhaal is anything less than stellar in his own right. His character could have easily become your standard white male military hero. Instead, he is simply a man that lives and acts on his principles, knows that he owes a debt and must make a commitment – a covenant – to the man to whom he owes his life.
The opposing nature of their situations juxtaposed against the commonalities of their hopes and desires may be a tale as old as time itself, but the manner in which they are displayed front and center makes them impossible to not be engaging. Salim's performance, however, gets the nod between the two because for a group of people so often demonized and stripped of their humanity in western media, his portrayal of Ahmed forces the audience to put themselves in his place and evaluate – and have sympathy – for his world and basic desires to enjoy a good life.
Ritchie accomplishes all of this without getting bogged down into the politics of what places his characters in their situation. Focusing on the humanity of everyone involved and the danger they face by being placed into situations that, while having signed up for them, creates an undeniably intriguing dynamic. Thanks to the dynamic performances of both men, however, their journey makes THE COVENANT a can't miss movie experience.
Make a covenant with your local theater and be sure to see it for yourself.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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