Hello, welcome to the Screen Writer Inc story blog.
Sometimes I have articles about writing a screenplay or how certain elements of a story are created and sometimes I even use a movie to review and highlight to show what works in a film (and what doesn't ).
Today I would like to talk about the new film The Kingdom, which will arrive in theaters September 28th. I was fortunate enough to attend a sneak preview of the film last night.
The title of the film refers to the "The Kingdom" of Saudi Arabia . The Kingdom serves as a backdrop for the story of a FBI investigative team, Special Agent Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx) and his elite team ( Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman). Who secretly travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to investigate the terrorist attack of a Western housing compound that resulted in many American civilians and an FBI agent on assignment in Riyadh being killed.
Fleury is only given five days to investigate to crime with no support form the State Department. To make matter worst; Fleury and his team come face to face with Saudi authorities suspicious and unwelcoming of American interlopers into what they consider a local matter. The team's only allies are Saudi Colonel Al-Ghazi (Ashraf Barhoum) and Sgt. Fadi (Hrach Titizian) who want to catch the terrorist as much as the American team.
The film is directed by Peter Berg and written by Mathew Carnahan. I think Berg did a very good job of balancing the action scenes with the interaction of the actors.
Caranahan's script attempted to put a balance between American and Arab view points. In fact, two of the most sympathic characters are the Saudi Colonel Al-Ghazi and Sgt. Fadi who bring a human face to the Arabs who balance loyalty to Islam and their homeland, with the pursuit for justice.
Still it is the American FBI agents that we follow and through their eyes we witness the suspiciousness and mistrust of Americans by the Saudi people. The FBI team members are literally strangers in a strange land.
The film is violent , but not gratuitously so. At it's heart this is an action movie, but a thought provoking action movie. You leaving the theater thinking about the politics of our nation and those countries who may or may not truly be our friends.
Go see The Kingdom, an action film that you just might learn something from.
This is the Screen Writer until next time.
