Taking a unique (and somewhat daring) approach to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist made leaps and bounds to be different, original, and controversial. An all-star cast and a stellar script should have made for a home run, but somehow the film ventured off course, diving too deeply into the details and forgetting that sometimes, especially in the world of film, less is more.
Riz Ahmed brilliantly stars as Changez Khan, a bright Wall Street business analyst who, after the attacks on the World Trade Center, saw his American Dream shatter before his very eyes. All the sudden a "suspicious" member of society, Khan returns to Pakistan to live with his family. Years after returning home, he has gained influence amongst the anti-American student population, enough to warrant a sit-down interview with American journalist Bobby Lincoln who has tracked him down after a foreign professor has been abducted by extremest and threatened with execution.
The pieces to this puzzle fit nicely as the story progresses, but too much is going on to keep the entire picture in clear focus. As a result, many details fall to the wayside as you scramble to keep up with time and events. Sure, the story proves that a lot was happening when the Twin Towers were hit, but when it distracts from the development of your characters, you begin to lose interest in how the story plays out.
Kate Hudson, who serves as Khan's personal future prior to the attacks, and Kiefer Sutherland, his professional outlook, give satisfactory performances in their perspective roles. That being said, neither are able to hold the film as it begins to spiral out of control just after the midway point. After the attacks, when Khan begins to see the transformation within the thoughts and actions of those he calls family, his own alterations begin to surface. During this development, both supporting stars are forced to cater to a now clouded character arc, leaving them both grasping at straws as each struggled to find their place within the confines of the newly directed story.
The most polarizing segments come during the present-day interview between Khan and Lincoln (Liev Schreiber). The two actors share a strong bond, feeding off one another to bring the current issues to the forefront as a war soaked in miscommunication and unwarranted conclusions comes to light. But that moment takes nearly two hours to reach, and audiences are only given about ten minutes in which to enjoy it. By that time, we are all lost and confused, disinterested in the outcome and just thankful that the film has reached its conclusion.
