Here’s how much Jodie Foster cares about preserving justice: In her new film “The Mauritanian,” Foster plays an attorney who decides to defend a man suspected of being “the head recruiter of 9/11” — or, as one general puts it, who “recruited the guys who flew your friend’s plane into the South tower.”
The man at the center of it all is Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Tahar Rahim), and he’s been languishing inside a prison cell at Guantanamo Bay without formal charges brought against him and with no expectation of a fair trial. But as Foster goes toe-to-toe with a military prosecutor played by Benedict Cumberbatch, they soon find out there’s a lot more at stake than just one man’s life.
“I’m not just defending him, I’m defending the rule of law,” Foster says in a conversation with Cumberbatch. He replies, “You haven’t seen what I’ve seen.”
“The Mauritanian” is based on a true story and a memoir by the real Ould Slahi called “Guantanamo Diary,” which wound up on the New York Times Best Sellers list and documented the man’s fight for survival against all odds.
Kevin Macdonald (“The Last King of Scotland”) directs this political and legal thriller that also stars Zachary Levi, Saamer Usmani and Shailene Woodley.
M.B. Traven, Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani wrote the screenplay for “The Mauritanian,” which is distributed by STXfilms and financed and executive produced by 30West and Topic Studios in partnership with BBC Film.
The producers are Adam Ackland, Leah Clarke, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lloyd Levin, Beatriz Levin, Mark Holder, Christine Holder, Branwen Prestwood Smith and Michael Bronner.
Check out the first trailer for “The Mauritanian” above and here.
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