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The Mauritanian

2021

Kevin Macdonald

Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster, Shailene Woodley, Benedict Cumberbatch ...

6.7

4,679

Drama A detainee at the U.S military's Guantanamo Bay detention center is held without charges for over a decade and seeks help from a defense attorney for his release.

	Author	Review
United States	Peter Debruge Variety	"A tough movie, and not an easy one to enjoy (...) But it fits within other well-established Hollywood genres (...) and as such, 'The Mauritanian' delivers the shock, outrage and ultimate comeuppance that audiences expect"	POS
United States	David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"[It] remains strangely flat, despite its star power and a gripping central performance from Tahar Rahim (...) An unimpeachably well-intentioned treatment of a dark chapter in American justice, it's methodical and serious-minded to a fault."	NEU
United States	Alonso Duralde The Wrap	"Even with an impressive line-up on both sides of the camera, post-9/11 abuses remain difficult to dramatize"	NEU
United States	Brian Tallerico rogerebert.com	"The Mauritanian fails to humanize the story it’s telling, never coming off like something more challenging or interesting than a superficial, manipulative accounting of true events. (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"	NEG
United States	Christian Gallichio The Playlist	"An efficient procedural that condemns the Bush-era treatment of detainees more effectively than any other recent narrative film. It’s an affecting, but nevertheless tragic, watch."	POS
United States	David Ehrlich IndieWire	"A flat and scattered judicial docudrama (...) This is one of those movies where the closing title cards (...) leave more of a mark than anything that comes before."	NEG
United Kingdom	Tim Grierson Screendaily	"[It] doesn’t lack for sincerity or muted rage. But the earnest, pat execution ultimately does a disservice to Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s arduous odyssey."	NEU
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"[It] is a movie that appears to be comprised entirely of good guys (...) It’s opaque and frustrating (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"	NEG
United States	Matt Goldberg Collider	"Rahim’s strong central performance (...) makes America’s recent sins feel even more potent and raw."	POS
United States	Chuck Bowen Slant	"[It] proceeds at a steady pace, hits its preachy marks, and is never unwatchable (...) But Macdonald evinces no true emotional or even intellectual curiosity about the material he’s working with (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"	NEU
	Kaleem Aftab Cineuropa	"Tahar Rahim is outstanding in Kevin Macdonald's riveting adaptation of Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s memoir 'Guantánamo Diary'"	POS

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