Inescapable

Though this film has been negatively received as being a take-off on the TAKEN films (father looking for daughter under dire circumstances) it is a different kind of film and one written and directed by Ruba Nadda who manages to gives us a story that in many ways explains why the Syrian situation (terrifying chaos) is as it is. If for no other reason than to gain insight on what life in a country infested with many 'secret police' organizations whose drive seems to be shoot now investigate later.

Years after he left Damascus under suspicious circumstances (he was a accused of being an Israeli spy), Adib Abdel Kareem (udanese born British character actor Alexander Siddig) is comfortably at work in Toronto when he is confronted with devastating news: his eldest daughter, Muna (Jay Anstey), has gone missing in Damascus. Now Adib, who has not been back in over 30 years, must return to Syria and deal with his secret past in order to find her. Getting a Visa is the first near impossible step, but once in Jordan he calls upon his ex- fiancée Fatima (Marisa Tomei) whom Adib deserted when he escaped to Canada years ago to assist him in ploughing through the red tape and dangers to find his daughter. The Canadian ambassador Paul (Joshua Jackson) is inextricably involved as is Adib's old comrade Sayid (Oded Fehr) and the man with answers Halim (Saad Siddiqui). Inescapable is a thriller about a father's desperate search for his daughter and the chaos of the Middle East he left behind.

The film is tense and disheveled at times but that reflects the worrisome chaos of too many factions trying to assist a country who seems unable to find its core values. This is not a great film but it does offer a taste of what life must be like in war torn Syria. And for that it is worth watching.

Grady Harp

Inescapable is a low budget generic action thriller with a Taken vibe. It is set in a Syria before they had civil turmoil with the Assad regime.

Alexander Siddig is Adib Abdel Kareem a man who fled Syria some years earlier as he was accused of being an Israeli spy. He has made a new life for himself in Canada.

He receives news that his daughter Muna (Jay Anstey) has gone missing in Damascus and must return to Damascus many years later to confront his past.

Adib enlists the help of an his ex-fiancée Fatima (Marisa Tomei) to help him while he is in Syria. He gets help from the Canadian embassy Paul (Joshua Jackson) and tracks down old associates and rivals such as Sayid (Oded Fehr.)

The unusual setting of Syria which is reality a police state gives the film some intrigue as you always have the sense of being watched and betrayal not being far behind.

The plot however does feel like Taken without much of the action and violence. Siddig is very effective in a meaty role but not a lot happens as he looks for clues to track down his daughter and stay one step ahead of his pursuers and double crossers. Its tense and watchable enough, Marisa Tomei lends it a lot of credibility but I felt it should had been a lot better.

Adib's (Alexander Siddig) daughter goes missing in Damascus, Syria and he must go and find her; but Adib has a secret that has kept him from Syria for 20-years. Actually, 2-secrets. This whole movie hinges on the reason his daughter went to Damascus in the first place when she was supposed to be on her way home to Toronto, Canada.

This is very slow going, but consider that if Adib goes back to a country that he escaped from and if caught now he would be arrested. He knows the customs of the country and still knows some people who are in high places, sort of. Language is no problem as he knows Arabic. Ah, but he does go back and knows he must approach everything slowly as there are many secret police units all over the place in this police state.

Adib needs help from someone who can do the things he needs done to find his daughter. The help comes from Fatima (Marisa Tomei) who Adib was supposed to marry back in the day, but he escaped and never made contact with her again. And, to be sure, Fatima tells him all about it in a rough and tumble way; and she is still in love with him. Okay, so now you know one secret.

So he goes to the Canadian Embassy (Adib is a Canadian citizen) for any help they can provide. He goes to see his old friend in Syrian Military Intelligence, and tries to run down a old Russian spy he knew back in the day to get his help. Adib knows he is being watched by factions of the Secret Police and is acutely aware that he could be arrested at any moment as now people are beginning to see him and do some research about him. But, no tension is felt.

This is sometimes suspenseful, but the tension is not there. The acting is fine all around, but also halting as one would expect in a place like this where one must choose one's words carefully. But, still no tension.

One thing that bothered me was that he wanders all over Damascus in a new Western suit, which stuck out like a sore thumb; and later he walks around openly in a newly pressed ultra white dress shirt. He should have worn things to blend in more, but the director didn't see it that way. She was never a spy. HA !

You will enjoy this if you take Adib's character to be your own. Sometimes you may ask yourself if you would have done anything different aside from the suit and the white shirt, of course. He knows people and needs to ask favors and he has to be careful about it. And, yes, he does get beaten up at times, but still no tension. If there was a way to get tension in here this would be a very good movie. It needed tension. (5/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes, not much.

It was such an emotional, fast paced ride.

Loved it, tells a personal story with Syria as a backdrop. I liked this. If you want more politics, go read a book - but if you want something that is emotional, a character study of an Arab man living in Canada - whose daughter goes missing, see this. A little bit of thriller, mystery, action - and so emotional.

The ending ripped my heart out. Loved it. Also looked like a big Hollywood movie, found out it was Canadian - which made even more sense. As its politics and the violence don't hit you over the head. Instead, it's a very universal story about how far a father would go and the past he needs to delve back into. Loved it.

I was very pleased to see this movie was willing to bring the action, as good as Ruba Nadda's romantic-leaning films Cairo Time and Sabah were. But where this film about a father who flies to a dangerous land to rescue his daughter from an unknown threat is different from Taken is that the hero is flesh and blood and approaches the problem in a civilized way first and by the time there is fighting we can feel a sense of consequence.

It has been said that the movie starts off fast. It starts as it should and as I reflected afterwards it avoids stock shots of a plane taking off and gives the impression of travel with aerial shot of a road the hero is riding along in a car. Cinematic short-hand. At the same time, it manages to avoid scenes that would be obvious beats in a lesser movie, like the panic of the mother upon learning of the crisis. Instead we see the moment before, as she watches her husband on the phone preparing to make the trip and confront the problem. There is just enough of the Canadian wife in this movie, considering that she would not compete with Marisa Tomei who "blends" into her environment and feels authentic. Even to the end I am thinking I hope Tomei's character makes out alright.

Alexander Siddig is not playing a super human but someone who is willing to face the worst and some real consequences to find his daughter. Joshua Jackson as a Canadian embassy guy manages to show several divergent aspects of his role without falling into any traps that would be central to a lesser movie with similar layers. Had Siddig been playing a typical action hero, he would have to cross a line into sociopath to clear away all the bad guys at once. He gets some good shots in and we can cheer for him, and one secret police figure is especially smug and needs to be killed but the way this film arrives at what has to happen is to take a left turn into character-motivated choices that are refreshing for the genre. Where there is tension, we are absolutely rooted in the reality of the moment by Siddig's expression. This is real for him and for us.

I have read a comment/review here on IMDb by one "A P" that seems to be a screaming stream of lies, one after the other. I contest his claim that people walked out during the TIFF screening. The movie grabs your attention and Siddig has a strong presence. There is a reason for every scene and not a moment is wasted. Any politics I took for granted. One villain is identified as Israeli but even he is redeemed. This is not a political tract. As I watched the story unfold as a Caucasian Canadian male I looked at the cultural aspect as colour that Ruba brings but the concept of a hero's descent into a special and dangerous world is one that we know and accept as classic myth. I had no problem identifying with Siddig's character, often called "Mr. Toronto" by an innkeeper in the film, and seeing it through his eyes. I am stunned by the current low numerical rating this movie has on IMDb and I trust that the more people see it the more the rating will improve. I noticed in a TIFF guide or other such publication Inescapable was misidentified as a romance. There is a restrained and heartbreaking lost love woven through the story, but it is a thriller that is correctly paced and set- up. It has action, though the build up is half the entertainment. I highly recommend seeing this movie.