Egyptian star gives a stirring performance in Canadian film
CAIRO: You might be surprised to hear this but 9/11 has been a blessing when it comes to the portrayal of Arabs in American films.
Arabs have always complained about how they are stereotyped in Hollywood movies. Many subscribed to conspiracy theories about how Israel used tot the film industry to launch a cultural attack on Muslims.
The fact is, this phenomenon has decreased significantly. And even when Arabs are portrayed as terrorists, the character is fleshed out, showing more individual traits.
But why the sudden change of heart? The answer is simple: America is living in the age of political correctness where even slandering the enemy is deemed unacceptable.
Civic Duty is the latest in a line of films that attempt to open up a tiny portal into the Arabs psyche. A smart, well-crafted thriller, it also deals a heavy blow to US media.
The film opens with accountant Terry Allen’s (Peter Krause) return home after getting fired from his job. Allen is a very ordinary man, perhaps too ordinary. He s married to Marla (Kari Matchett), a beautiful smart woman who’s clearly out of his league, which adds to his insecurity.
With a lot of time on his hands and non-stop exposure to the media, Allen s paranoia gradually reaches a devastating climax when an Arab Muslim graduate student (Egyptian actor Khaled Abol Naga) moves next door.
Civic Duty is built on a premise similar in some ways to Alfred Hitchcock s Rear Window about a man spying on his neighbor from his apartment window, suspecting that he committed a murder.
The story is told entirely from Allen’s vantage point; we see everything through his eyes and, in some parts, share his suspicion. But the way viewers will interpret what he sees depends primary on their subjective perception, one that may be radically different from Allen s.
The film condemns neither Arabs nor Americans. Both protagonists are multi-dimensional and the audience gets enough context to like and hate both characters.
But if we can take home one message, it’s this: America is responsible for the antagonism targeting it before and after 9/11; and the victim of this whole tragedy is the average, ignorant American, whose complacence and apathy vis-à-vis the rest of the world has cost him a hefty price.The key to understanding, and perhaps sympathizing, with Allen s character relies entirely on Krause s performances, where, as we are used to him in the TV hit Six Feet Under , he brings out the deepest, darkest sides of Allen s soul.
It s Abol Naga s performance that hangs in your mind as you leave the theater. He infuses the unobtrusive scorn of the character with the desperation, panic, intensity of feeling and wounded pride with outstanding effortlessness.
The man s a natural. This is a turning point in his career and, according to various critics, one of the best contemporary performances by an Arab actor in an international film.
