Inescapable

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'm not the same man you chased away all those years ago. Find my daughter!" Years after he left Damascus under suspicious circumstances, Adib Abdel Kareem (Siddig) returns when he finds out that his daughter has gone missing. When he meets people from his past he is forced not only to confront his earlier life consequences but also find his daughter before its too late. This is a movie that is good, fast moving and worth watching, but also a little generic. There really isn't much to say about this one. Father finds out his daughter is missing, he is forced to seek help from those he has had previous problems with, encounters resistance. I did like the movie and I do think it's worth watching and while it is pretty tense I found that the daughter storyline seemed to have gotten lost in the jumble of what was going on. When you watch that will make sense. Overall, a movie that is good and well worth checking out but it is a tad generic. I give it a B.

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.

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.

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