Directed by Kevin Macdonald
Written by Michael Bronner, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani
Starring Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Shailene Woodley
Running time 2 hours 9 minutes
MPA rating R for graphic depictions of torture
Now available digitally

by Jaime Davis, Staff Writer, The Fixer

It’s alternately frustrating and heartbreaking watching The Mauritanian, witnessing what Mohamedou Ould Salahi went through at the hands of the FBI, CIA, and other US government agencies, who alleged Salahi was an al-Qaeda recruiter involved in the September 11th attacks in New York. Salahi claims he was involved with al-Qaeda, but only for a brief time in the early 90’s as part of a group in support of the mujahideen aimed at suppressing a communist regime in Afghanistan. Post 9/11, he was initially questioned in his home of Mauritania and later imprisoned in Jordan and Bagram, before the US government transferred him to Guantanamo Bay in 2002. There, he was considered a “Special Project” by US military and questioned by both US and Canadian intelligence officers. He was later tortured for 70 days straight and eventually coerced into false confessions after his interrogators threatened to punish his mother if he didn’t “confess” to specific 9/11-related crimes. Despite all of this, not one single charge was ever brought against him, despite a years-long investigation in the US military. 

During the early stages of the military’s inquiry, Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Couch was tasked in 2003 with leading the US military’s legal case against Salahi, but later withdrew from in 2004. Couch was a product of the Navy’s rigorous SERE training program, which the CIA”s controversial torture program was partially based on (sold to the CIA by real-life villains Bruce Jessen & James Mitchell – more on them later). After visiting Guantanamo and witnessing interrogations, he didn’t like what he saw, and while he suspected Salahi was somehow involved in the attacks of September 11th, he felt any opportunity to prosecute him legally was tainted by the brutality in which the government received his “confessions.” Later, Salahi’s attorney, Nancy Hollander, recommended Salahi write a complete record of his torture in the form of hand-written letters detailing the circumstances in which his false confessions came about. 

Salahi’s case was eventually brought forth to trial in 2010 with a new lead prosecutor, however the judge found little evidence related to Salahi’s associations with al-Qaeda to warrant his imprisonment and ordered his immediate release from Guantanamo Bay. Of course, Salahi wasn’t freed until 2016, one year after his written record was published as a (highly redacted and hugely successful) memoir under the name Guantanamo Diary. It is this memoir that provides much of the basis for The Mauritanian film, and showcases the US government in a highly critical light.

Salahi’s story is super-important to tell, and the film does a serviceable job technically-speaking. It’s tough to structure so many moving parts–Salahi’s journey involves multiple people, countries, and time jumps. It’s hard to say what the best medium would have been to showcase the true events here, and it’s an issue that comes up in films and stories of this nature. There were times when I felt super roped into what was going on, only to be abruptly pulled out and thrown into a new timeline with different stakeholders whose moments I didn’t find as engaging or as artistically important. Director Kevin Macdonald takes a mostly straightforward approach with the film’s aesthetics–there’s nothing wrong with that necessarily, but there’s nothing particularly memorable about it either. Besides a few artistic flourishes here and there, the film is quite straightforward and procedural, placing the emphasis on the action of the story and the fine performances from the entire cast. 

French-Algerian actor Tahar Rahim (A Prophet) takes on the titular role of Salahi with quiet confidence–he’s mesmerizing to watch. Jodie Foster is, of course, strong in the role, but when is she not? She plays Salahi’s attorney Hollander, a no-nonsense straight-shooter with little time for pleasantries, a role that seems a perfect fit for Foster. Her recent Golden Globe win for this performance feels warranted to me but was no doubt surprising. Shailene Woodley, as the assistant attorney on Salahi’s case, shows her acting talents here, however her role is a bit diminished – she’s in and out and then in again throughout the film–we don’t really get to know much about her character beyond her work. Benedict Cumberbatch rounds out the cast as US naval attorney Stuart Couch, conflicted by his duty to country, to the memory of a close friend who died in one of the 9/11 attacks, and to his own conscience. Cumberbatch is one of the people who initially championed Salahi’s book to screen adaptation which is awesome, butttt, I dunno. I had a hard time seeing him in this particular role–he’s fine and everything! I think I’m just so used to him playing some historic British real-life person (or a fictional dragon) that I couldn’t take him as seriously here.  

It shouldn’t come as a shock to any movie lover that Hollywood has been known to depict Arabs and Muslims as evil, one-dimensional extremists and terrorists. While there’s way too much to unpack as to why these stereotypes exist, and the nuances of how Americans may feel about such stereotypes, I think one thing we can agree on is that yep, the stereotypes are there. For me, the most interesting aspect of The Mauritanian is that we get a very sympathetic portrayal of Salahi, a practicing Muslim with ties to al-Qaeda. I really welcomed and enjoyed the supportive stance the film takes–I can’t really think of many other American films released post 2001 that take a similar view (though I welcome any film recs in the comments).The main American entertainment that comes to my mind–Argo, London Has Fallen, 24, Zero Dark Thirty, American Sniper, and Homeland–at times lack true context or objectivity in their depictions, instead painting characters from Middle Eastern ethnic groups in big, broad strokes (looking at you London Has Fallen, American Sniper) or exclude true complexity of events that would explain certain behaviors and actions of those characters (Argo). One film, 2016’s Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, attempts to subvert this by featuring an intelligent, nuanced, caring, supportive Afghan protagonist…who ended up being played by Christopher Abbott, a great actor for sure, but a white actor of Portuguese and Italian descent.  

This positive, sympathetic portrayal of Salahi and the overall tone of The Mauritanian had me thinking it would make a great triple feature with 2019’s The Report and 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty. Watch The Mauritanian first for a close-up view of one prisoner’s abuse at the hands of an out-of-control CIA, and how a select few stood up against egregious human rights violations at the hands of US government agencies. Then watch The Report; the film is a scathing review of the United States and a deep dive into how the CIA purchased Mitchell & Jessen’s brutal, now-disputed interrogation program in the first place, and how the two psychologists not only received millions of dollars and perks for their “work” but also received a full pardon, making them virtually unpunishable. Finally, end with Zero Dark Thirty, watching very critically at how the CIA is portrayed with a detached, confident “cool hero” vibe. Surely the CIA agents involved in the hunt for 9/11 terrorists, the ones who snatched, imprisoned, tortured and maimed hundreds, including Mohamedou Ould Salahi, aren’t necessarily heroes. The Mauritanian may not be the most artful or perfect film, but it’s one that everyone should watch.