Scene from the film, Traitor _460

TRAITOR (Cert. 12A, 114 mins)
Stars: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Saïd Taghmaoui, Neal McDonough, Alyy Khan, Archie Panjabi
Directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff

WRITER-DIRECTOR Jeffrey Nachmanoff exploits the disparity between fact and illusion in this taut thriller of political intrigue and espionage, creating a horribly plausible scenario for a devastating attack on American soil.

Central to the nightmarish plot is an undercover operative, apparently embedded within a terrorist cell to bring it down from the inside, whose dubious actions continually suggest an ulterior motive. Like the characters, we’re left in the dark for most of the film as to whether he is double-crossing the Americans to avenge the murder of his Muslim father in a car bomb, which opens the film.

Rage and grief can corrupt even the purest soul, festering for years before they finally take hold.

Traitor maintains a brisk pace after the pyrotechnic-laden opening, cranking up the tension as Samir provides Omar and his minions with the necessary tools to kill hundreds of innocent men, women and children.

A couple of twists don’t ring true and the ending signals its sly intentions far too early.

For a change, we are one step ahead of the characters.