The Mauritanian

The Mauritanian is a 2021 legal drama film based on the ostensibly true story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi,# # # # # a Mauritanian man who was held for fourteen years (from 2002 to 2016) without charge in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, a United States military prison. The film was directed by Kevin Macdonald based on a screenplay written by M.B. Traven, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani, adapted from Slahi's 2015 memoir Guantánamo Diary. It stars Tahar Rahim as Slahi, and also features Jodie Foster, Shailene Woodley, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Zachary Levi in supporting roles.
The Mauritanian was released in the United States on February 12, 2021 by STXfilms. In the United Kingdom, where all cinemas were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the planned cinema release was cancelled and the film was premiered on Amazon Prime Video on April 1, 2021. It received mixed to positive reviews, with critics praising Macdonald's direction, its cinematography and performances of the cast (particularly of Rahim and Foster) but criticised its screenplay. At the 78th Golden Globe Awards the film received two nominations; Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (for Rahim), with Foster winning Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture. At the 74th British Academy Film Awards the film received five nominations, including Best Film, Outstanding British Film, and Best Actor (for Rahim).
==Plot==
In November 2001, Mohamedou Ould Slahi is in Mauritania, two months after the September 11 attacks. A Mauritanian policeman tells Mohamedou that Americans want to have a talk with him. Mohamedou agrees to go with them.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, in February 2005, lawyer Nancy Hollander is told by French lawyer Emmanuel that a lawyer from Mauritania approached his firm in Paris on behalf of Mohamedou’s family. They haven’t seen Mohamedou since he was arrested three years ago and only just found out in a newspaper that he is being held by the US at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba and is accused of being one of the organizers of 9/11. Emmanuel asks Nancy to look into it because she has a security clearance from a previous case and can ask questions he can’t. Nancy agrees to check.
At a Naval Law Conference in New Orleans, Marine Prosecutor Stuart Couch is told by Colonel Bill Seidel about the Mohamedou case which Seidel wants him to prosecute. Seidel says that Mohamedou fought with Al-Qaeda in the 90s and then recruited for them in Germany, and says it was Mohamedou who recruited the terrorist who flew Stu’s friend’s plane into the tower.
Nancy and Teri (her fellow lawyer) fly down to Guantánamo to meet Mohamedou. Mohamedou agrees to hire them as his lawyers. Meanwhile, Stu tells his team to go through all the intel reports they have to corroborate the story against Mohamedou.
Nancy finds out something through Mohamedou’s letter which she received from him while Stu looks at the MFR (Memorandum for the Record), showing exactly what happened. The letter and reports talk about enhanced torture and treatment including sexual assault upon Mohamedou by the Guantanamo guards as ordered by General Mandel. General Mandel also threatened the arrest and rape of his mother. Thus, to save his mother, Mohamedou gave false confession about being a terrorist.
In December 2009, at trial Mohamedou testified over video link to the court. In March 2010, Mohamedou got a letter informing him that his case was successful, and the judge has ordered him to be released. Text is shown telling us that it would be another 7 years before he actually was released, because the government appealed. His mother died in 2013 so he never saw her again. He was finally released in 2016, having spent 14 years in prison without ever being charged.
Finally, footage of the real Mohamedou arriving back in Mauritania is shown. Texts are shown, telling us Mohamedou lives in Mauritania and got married in 2018 to an American lawyer. They have a baby son, Ahmed, but haven’t been able to live together as a family and are hoping a country will grant them protection and citizenship. Nancy and Teri are still lawyers working against injustice, and we see footage of Mohamedou giving them necklaces with their names in Arabic.
==Cast==
* Tahar Rahim as Mohamedou Ould Slahi
* Jodie Foster as Nancy Hollander
* Shailene Woodley as Teri Duncan
* Benedict Cumberbatch as Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Couch
* Zachary Levi as Neil Buckland
* Saamer Usmani as Arjun
* Corey Johnson as Bill Seidel
* Denis Menochet as Emmanuel
* David Fynn as Kent
* Walter van Dyk as District Court of Columbia Judge
==Production==
The film was announced in November 2019. Kevin Macdonald signed on as director, with Benedict Cumberbatch, Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim and Shailene Woodley cast to star. In December 2019, Zachary Levi joined the cast of the film.. Filming began on December 2nd, 2019 in South Africa.
The film was originally known as Guantánamo Diary in its early development stages, and as Prisoner 760 during production, before being described as untitled in post-production. In November 2020, the title was revealed to be The Mauritanian.
==Release==
In August 2020, STX Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. STX International will release the film in the United Kingdom and Ireland and pre-sold the international distribution rights at the American Film Market in November 2019. The film was released in the United States on February 12, 2021 in theaters, with a digital demand release following on March 2, 2021.
==Reception==
=== Box office ===
As of April 1, 2021, the film had made $835,724 domestically and $2,500,000 internationally, for a global total of $3,335,724.
Released alongside Judas and the Black Messiah, Land with limited expansion of Willy's Wonderland on February 12, 2021. The Mauritanian made $163,789 from 245 theaters, and $179,778 over the four-day President's Day weekend. In its second weekend of release the film made $137,072 from 287 theaters. In its third weekend, the film took in $120,192, a decline of 12.3% from the second. In its fourth weekend, the film made $90,004.
===Critical response===
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 75% of 209 critic reviews were positive, with an average rating of 6.50/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The Mauritanian takes a frustratingly generic approach to a real-life story that might have been inspirational in other hands, but Tahar Rahim's performance elevates the uneven material." According to Metacritic, which sampled 30 critics and calculated a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, the film received "mixed or average reviews".
Leaf Arbuthnot, writing for Tatler, described the film as 'excellent', praising in particular the performances of Foster and Rahim as 'impeccable'. The Hindu praised the performances of the cast, specifically of Foster, saying; she elevates the legal drama to a whole new level.
=== Accolades ===
Award 	Date of ceremony 	Category 	Recipient(s) 	Result	
AARP Movies for Grownups Award 	March 4, 2021 	Best Supporting Actress 	Jodie Foster 	 	
British Academy Film Award 	April 11, 2021 	Best Film 	Adam Ackland, Leah Clarke, Beatriz Levin and Lloyd Levin 	 	
British Academy Film Award 	April 11, 2021 	Outstanding British Film 	Kevin Macdonald, Adam Ackland, Leah Clarke, Beatriz Levin, Lloyd Levin, Rory Haines, Sohrab Noshirvani and M. B. Traven	 	
British Academy Film Award 	April 11, 2021 	Best Actor in a Leading Role 	Tahar Rahim 	 	
British Academy Film Award 	April 11, 2021 	Best Adapted Screenplay 	M.B. Traven, Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani 	 	
British Academy Film Award 	April 11, 2021 	Best Cinematography 	Alwin H. Küchler 	 	
Casting Society of America 	April 15, 2021 	Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Studio or Independent Feature - Drama	Nina Gold, Christa Schamberger (location casting) 	 	
European Film Awards 	December 11, 2021	Best Actor 	Tahar Rahim 	 	
Golden Globe Awards 	February 28, 2021	Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama 	Tahar Rahim 	 	
Golden Globe Awards 	February 28, 2021	Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture 	Jodie Foster 	 	
Heartland Film 	 	Truly Moving Picture Award 	Kevin Macdonald 	 	
London Film Critics' Circle Awards	February 7, 2021 	Film of the Year 	The Mauritanian 	 	
London Film Critics' Circle Awards	February 7, 2021 	Director of the Year 	Kevin Macdonald 	 	
London Film Critics' Circle Awards	February 7, 2021 	Actor of the Year 	Tahar Rahim 	 	
Women Film Critics Circle Awards 	 	Best Actor 	Tahar Rahim 	 	
Women Film Critics Circle Awards 	 	Best Female Action Hero 	Jodie Foster 	 	
==Notes==
==References==
==External links==
* 
* 
Category:2021 drama films
Category:2020s legal drama films
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:2020s French-language films
Category:2020s Arabic-language films
Category:2020s multilingual films
Category:American films
Category:American legal drama films
Category:British films
Category:British drama films
Category:British legal films
Category:BBC Film films
Category:Drama films based on actual events
Category:Films about lawyers
Category:Films based on non-fiction books
Category:Films directed by Kevin Macdonald (director)
Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe-winning performance
Category:Films starring Zachary Levi
Category:Films scored by Max Richter
Category:Films shot in South Africa
Category:Films set in prison
Category:Films set in Cuba
Category:Films set in Mauritania
Category:Films set in New Mexico
Category:Films set in 2001
Category:Films set in 2002
Category:Films set in 2003
Category:Films set in 2005
Category:Films set in 2008
Category:Films set in 2010
Category:Films set in 2016
Category:Films set in the 2000s
Category:Guantanamo Bay detention camp
Category:STX Entertainment films
Category:Topic Studios films
Category:Torture in films