Almost three decades since it was originally conceived, Tony Gilroy’s screenplay for (“Bourne,” “Michael Clayton”) “Beirut” has finally become an end product. Directed by Brad Anderson (“The Machinist,” “Transsiberian“), “Beirut” creative origins can be traced to 1991. Unfortunately for Gilroy, the script never could find its footing and would be eventually scrapped.
Keeping in mind the year and socio-political atmosphere of “Beirut’s” origins, It’s no surprise that the finished effort comes across as a dated espionage thriller with ‘90s filmmaking nuances looking back at the ’70s. That being said, the film also lacks consideration of today’s political climate alongside the issues that plague the Middle East as of 2018.
“Beirut” follows Mason Skiles (Jon Hamm), a former U.S. diplomat of Lebanon called upon by CIA operatives to negotiate the life of his former colleague with an unknown terrorist group, possibly the same group associated with the slaying of Mason’s wife (Leïla Bekhti) a decade earlier. While the plot sounds rather focused, it’s everything but, as the storyline unravels with a plethora of unneeded twists and turns convoluting the understanding of international affairs and cultural history of Beirut and more broadly, Lebanon.
Although the majority of “Beirut” proves to be quite the task to watch, it’s still rather refreshing to witness Hamm continue to come into his own as a genuine A-list talent. By exploring the depths of alcoholism as a result of a tragedy, Hamm’s hardened performance as a seemingly washed-up diplomat provides audiences with just enough motivation in order to sit through the entirety of this questionable direction. Nevertheless, it’s unfortunate that the charismatic display by Hamm is wasted on an unrealistic and stereotypical portrayal of vital history, contorted through the scope of American exceptionalism.
As “Beirut” epitomizes the problematic American lens of Middle Eastern conflict, the subject matter at hand would have been served not much different if say, Antoine Fuqua or an equally typical modern action filmmaker directed this film. With that being said, Anderson is so determined in delivering a suspenseful thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat, that historical accuracy is forgotten, stripping his audience of the opportunity to comprehend the real conflict beneath.
Aside from failing to illustrate sociopolitical complexities and the lack of sensitivity toward a rich culture, “Beirut” also lacks what makes a fundamentally sound movie. With the absence of fully developed characters (with the exception of Hamm’s), the excessive monologues (which lack any background to understanding the politics of the Lebanese Civil War and PLO) and some downright unfortunate dialogue (“ You got some lemons, so make some lemonade”), “Beirut” is a careless attempt at throwing it back to old school political thrillers complete with the same dated hint of cultural misrepresentation.
Because Anderson blunders a vital and relevant time in Lebanese history, audiences are reminded of America’s hyper-xenophobic nature that seems to be increasing with each passing day. With tensions perpetually taut in the area, most notably Syria, one would hope that a film set against the Lebanese Civil War would breathe some sort of meritable insight into the caustic way in which Americans perceive the Middle East.
Unfortunately, Anderson’s latest direction falls victim to the classic exploitive Hollywood portrayal Middle Eastern culture With “Beirut,” Arab characters are purported as mere pawns to a plot that affords no humanity. Aside from using Lebanon as a backdrop of chaos, Anderson and company head-shakingly lean into stereotypes of Lebanese people, painting Islam as a religion brimming with extremism.
“Beirut” is a disappointing display of what filmmaking can accomplish in terms of offering artistic reflection into the world’s affairs. From the same director that devised show-stoppers in “Transsiberian” and most profoundly, “The Machinist,” Anderson flips the script on his career with a piece that panders to America’s Islamophobic ways, a film filled with inaccurate caricatures of Middle-Eastern affairs. And unfortunately, not even a great performance from Jon Hamm can fix that. [D+]