"Traitor" is this summer's political thriller, or at least that is its intent. At times it reaches the goal of intrigue, action, drama, plot twists and heroism. At other times it falls to the wayside by attempting to weave too many intricacies into the story and by being afraid to take a stand, feeling a need to display both sides of the political story at almost every juncture. Jerry Nachmanoff is both writer and director and he does a great job on the directing side but not quite as solidly on the writing side. It is based on a story by Steve Martin.
The action opens with a bang in 1978 in Sudan when a young child witnesses his father enter into a car which immediately blows up, killing him instantaneously. Flash to the present, also in Sudan. A man that we gather is the young boy all grown up, is driving a car. His name is Samir Horn (Don Cheadle) and he is seeking a local contact in order to sell him weapons. The men he wishes to sell to are suspicious of him which is certainly reasonable. A lot of the characters in "Traitor" are suspicious of each other. Into the middle of the sale comes a group of FBI men, led by agents Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce) and Max Archer (Neal McDonough). They take the group prisoner and the focus of their investigation is Samir. The FBI fellows give him the obligatory interrogation/beating but Samir has very little to say because he's a tough guy. The prison reminded me a bit of the one in "Midnight Express" but maybe it's just how prisons look in movies about third world countries.
From here, "Traitor" alternates scenery from the Mideast to Marseilles, to Washington, to London and so on. There is no doubt that big money has been spent on this venture. You can almost see the dollar bills on the screen. The effect is somewhat like watching the political thrillers that grace your television set. Picture an exorbitantly expensive production of "NCIS."
There are two basic sets of intrigue at work in "Traitor." The first involves the politics of the Mideast. The second involves trying to figure out just who Samir is really working for. It could be the "good" Americans, the "bad" fundamental Islamists, or he might be in it for the cash. Of course, eventually all is revealed.
"Traitor" is a good solid political thriller but it has two very large problems. The first involves an action that Samir takes in the last third of the film. It is incredibly out of character for him. This previously very bright person commits an utterly boneheaded mistake but that error absolutely pales to the utterly, incredibly stupid ending. Simply put, it is impossible. It could not happen on this planet, in this dimension. As the credits rolled I had to control myself from yelling out at the screen. Despite these disastrous moments, "Traitor" is an intelligent piece of work but that's like the old joke that the maiden voyage of the Titanic went well, except for that bit about the iceberg.
