Gavin Hood’s Moral Compass

Andrew Gnerre | Published October 21, 2007

Gavin Hood is certainly not playing it safe with his Hollywood directorial debut, Rendition. The film, which opened October 19, tells the story of Anwar El-Ibrahimi, a suspected Egyptian terrorist who “disappears” on an intercontinental flight. His American-born wife, played by Reese Witherspoon, and a CIA agent, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, are both forced to deal with the consequences of his mysterious detention, as the former journeys to Washington to discover the truth about her husband’s whereabouts, while the latter is made to utilize questionable interrogation techniques on El-Ibrahimi.

Hood is not new to tackling pressing issues in his films, as he began his film career making government-sponsored educational health films that discussed AIDS/HIV in South Africa, the country of his birth. He then went on to direct the Polish-language children’s film In Desert and Wilderness, followed by the Oscar-winning Tsotsi, which depicted the exploits of a teenage street gang in South Africa.

The title for his new film comes from the term “external rendition,” which is the practice of exporting United States detainees to foreign countries known for employing harsh interrogation techniques. Hood disagrees strongly with the use of this tactic and is upset by the apathy and intentional ignorance of the American people. “The attitude is, ‘Hey, if it’s gotta be done, just don’t tell me about it,’” he says. “And that’s where you get the concept of outsourcing the torture…’Well, these countries do it anyway, so let them do it.’ That’s a moral cop-out. Just because you are removed from it doesn’t mean you are not involved.” With Rendition, Hood is attempting to raise awareness of a disgraceful issue facing our nation; certainly an admirable task for his first Hollywood film.