Profile

Greetings again from the darkness. French journalist Anna Erelle documented her month-long correspondence with an ISIS terrorist in her 2015 book, "In the Skin of a Jihadist." Her experience resulted in a fatwa being issued for her ... basically an Islamic death sentence on her head. Based on (more like influenced by) Ms. Erelle's story, writer-director Timur Bekmambetov (ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, 2012) and co-writers Brittany Poulton, Olga Kharina bring us a movie version via computer screen storytelling.

Valene Kane ("The Fall") stars as Amy Whittaker, a British freelance journalist with a bright idea for an important story. With so many western girls being recruited by ISIS and sold as sex slaves, Amy decides to track down a recruiter and gain intel on how the process works. She does this by creating new Facebook and Skype accounts under the fictitious name of Melody Nelson, an "almost" 20 year old new convert to Islam who just doesn't fit in to her current world. With the beep of a new post, Melody is contacted by Bilel, a terrorist and ISIS recruiter, whose profile expertly blends cat videos with bombings and beheadings.

Bilel (Shazad Latif, "Star Trek: Discovery") is handsome and charming. He talks the talk and walks the walk as both a terrorist and man who can seduce vulnerable young women via FaceTime. There is a lot happening on Amy's/Melody's screen at any given time. The pop ups come fast and frequently from her hard-nosed news editor Vick (Christine Adams, "Black Lightning"), curious best friend Kathy (Emma Cater), confused boyfriend Matt (Morgan Watkins), and IT specialist Lou (Amir Rahimzadeh), himself the son of a Muslim. As if all that isn't enough, YouTube videos come and go, and Melody is constantly googling the latest topic of conversation so she doesn't give away her ruse.

Artistic license is taken with her in-the-moment research and blunders. Although Ms. Kane is strong in the role, Amy never comes across as a professional journalist on a job. She does, however, expertly play to the stresses - rent due, concerned boyfriend, social commitments, dual personas, work deadlines, and the social media chaos that comes with flirting with terrorists or "making friends with jihadists". It's just impossible to imagine a job like this wouldn't find all parties better prepared and protected.

Still, the reality of young women being seduced and recruited by terrorists is quite real, and this should generate fear in every parent. I kept thinking "that wouldn't happen", all the while my stomach churned with the tension. It's the reality of the threat that creates the fear, but director Bekmambetov effectively uses the online interactions to create a current and urgent scenario.

In theaters on May 14, 2021.

Amy Whittaker (Valene Kane) creates the Facebook profile of alias Melody Nelson intending to attract attention of ISIS recruiters as part of a Gonzo journalism story chronicling the recruitment processes of European women ho then join up with ISIS. It isn't long before Melody's profile attracts the attention of Bilel (Shazad Latif) a handsome and charismatic man who establishes a rapport with the Melody persona eventually becoming seemingly romantic in nature with the lines between Melody and Amy seemingly blurred.

Adapted from the non-fiction book, In the Skin of a Jihadist by French journalist Anna Ereklle, Timur Bekmambetov directs and co-writes this film inspired by the actual story using the "screenlife" filmmaking style he helped popularize with the unfriended movies, and legitimized with his production of the John Cho thriller Searching which gave the format critical legitimacy that had been lacking from the more horror based narratives around the format. Profile has been completed for about three years with festival viewings occurring as early as 2018 and only recently received a release in 2021 where it was quietly released due to the ongoing pandemic. I'm not quite sure exactly why Profile has been sitting on a shelf so long as aside from the screenlife format it's a very familiar undercover/"in too deep" type narrative that will be familiar to those who've seen this type of story, but it is mostly well done.

Much like how Searching took traditional thriller tropes and applied them to the social media age, Profile does the same with undercover story tropes and plays with the ideas of how ubiquitous and easily accessible the internet and social media has made far reaching places around the world. When we see Amy setting up her account to give the impression of a displaced young woman who's flirting with radicalization it's a good sequence as it shows us how easily we can create an image that distorts the truth of who you're interacting with and creating a façade that is indistinguishable from a real life person. When we see Bilel it's a really strong introduction because he's not overly dominating or angry and has a laid back charisma that makes it believable as to why he'd be able to draw people in. Shazad Latif is really good in the role adding just enough humor to make him relatable, but also enough tension beneath the surface to make him a threat. Amy Whittaker I was slightly more mixed on. While I think Valene Kane does well in a role that is not an easy one, I think the role feels very shaky as the movie often shows her making really obvious mistakes and flubs, but also gives us the sense she's got a tenuous grasp on the situation and makes her seem overly fragile and suggestible. Admittedly I have not read the book so I'm not sure how much of the latter half of this story is drawn from the actual story, but as it's presented it makes it hard for me to believe Amy would fall for a man while still having research notes on another woman who was stoned to death for trying to leave ISIS.

Profile raises some interesting questions about the internet and social media's usage in international terrorism and radicalization, but it does so around a story that gives the audience a bit more than they're capable of swallowing with a "romance" angle that feels hard to buy especially with how mentally unstable our main character seemingly is. The novelty of the format is well utilized and the cast do a good job for the most part so I do recommend it, but it doesn't reach quite as high as it could have.

7/10 - probably my least favorite of the Screenlife thrillers (I have an unhealthy obsession with Unfriended and Searching), but still a really interesting true life story about ISIS recruiting all on the computer screen.

Online seductions are many and varied and not new to those of us who engage with the Internet regularly. Profile takes the online search further than Searching or Her did by showing an undercover journalist, Amy (Valene Kane), being recruited by ISIS as easily as you might order a pair of socks from Amazon. Based on a true story, Profile has cultural and global inferences as many as the seduction techniques.

Brit reporter Amy interacts with recruiter Bilel (Shizad Latif), who thinks she is a naïve young aspirant for ISIS. Such is the power of the Internet to bring world computer travelers together in real time showing real emotions. In a sub-genre of the Stockholm Syndrome, Amy falls for Bilel and eventually agrees to marry him.

Profile doesn't give much information on Amy's background to justify why she falls for the dangerously charismatic, except for her clueless boyfriend, Matt (Morgan Watkins), who is one of the reasons such an attractive woman would go to the other side. Yet, the film is not really about being a recruit for global cult ISIS; it is about how the medium of the Internet, with the dexterity it gives to cons like Bilel, makes crooks out of the smartist of us.

Or should I say in Bilel's case, to a charming grifter are given the tools to conquer the world. On an esthetic note, Valene and Shizad are gifted performers who could sell just about anything. Likewise, director Timur Bekmambetov and writers Britt Poulton and Olga Kharina have crafted a thriller that shows the awful potential of the Net, even more than the notorious ISIS.

Persuasion has a new level of sophistication: Witness two smart operatives persuading each other. Profile will add to your understanding of human emotion and the power of the computer.

I don't know why this movie doesn't have more exposure or popularity. It was a unique and well executed movie that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The fact that it's based on a true story makes it even better in my opinion. The desktop production gives you a very realistic feel. How someone can make an entire movie via FaceTime/Mac computer screen and it NOT get boring is down right amazing to me. The plot of this film opens your eyes and makes you understand how people can get drawn into these terrorist type groups or how normal every day people can be easily influenced to do the wrong thing. Loved this movie from start to finish. Very well done!