Mediocre storytelling carried by great performances

Rating: 7/10 (5 May 2020)

While this isn't a bad film, in fact probably a good film, it's not a great film. Ultimately I think it's somewhat hurt by the fact that it's difficult to really sympathize too much with Garrigan. All the red flags about what kind of person Amin is are there from the very beginning but he seems too easily seduced by too little, and persists in being blind to the reality of his situation after far too much has happened to cause him to question anything, to say nothing of some genuinely horrible decisions.
I think this would be more compelling if we felt like he had really been deceived and that there was a stronger friendship between the two leads despite what a monster one of them is. But that's not really the case here. Both actors are outstanding, doing some of their very best work here. In fact the entire cast is great and deserves a mention. Similarly, I can't fault the direction. The storytelling is what kind of brings this down. Ultimately it's still a passable political thriller, and I think it is good that a film like this exists to bring awareness to Amin's foul deeds, but that could have been accomplished in a documentary. The implicit expectation here is that there is some other message beyond just that he was a bad dude - some development in the Garrigan's character. But I don't feel that development is ever really that significant. Simply regretting an obviously regrettable life choice does not really count as good character development in my book, nor does it make for a good story.