Rendition opened this Fall and is now available on DVD. This thriller has all the makings of a great date movie – just get the popcorn, turn down the lights and watch this political thriller one evening.

Rendition is one of several political-themed dramas that opened this Fall, including, Lions for Lambs, that can make an ordinary date extraordinary – leading to discussions about politics and values. What makes this particular movie exceptional as a date movie are the love stories interwoven among the (suspected?) terror plots.

With its all-star cast, Rendition is based on the U.S. government’s policy of “extraordinary rendition” – that is, the kidnapping of people suspected of terrorism, detention of such persons without trial and the (presumed brutal) torture of them in secret overseas prisons. The movie does not paint a pretty picture of this American sub-system, and the realism of some of the interrogation scenes may make you want to turn away, but it will give you plenty to discuss over dinner.

Anwar El-Ibrahimi (actor: Omar Metwally) is an Egyptian-American chemical engineer who has been in the United States since he was a teenager. The government believes he is involved in a terrorist conspiracy (based on a cell-phone record showing questionable calls) and wants to elicit relevant information from him – by whatever means.

He is kidnapped by the CIA on his return flight from Cape Town to Washington D.C., and is flown to an unnamed North African country where he is tortured by the local secret police. The goal: Get Anwar to disclose the names of his co-conspirators. Douglas Freeman (actor: Jake Gyllenhaal) is the CIA analyst based in the North African state assigned to supervise the interrogations.

When her husband doesn’t come home, pregnant American Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi (actress: Reese Witherspoon) gets on a plane and heads to Washington, D.C. to find out what has happened to him. She enlists the help of an old college boyfriend Alan Smith (actor: Peter Sarsgaard), who now works for Senator Hawkins (actor: Alan Arkin). She seeks answers through governmental channels, but the covert tactics implemented by Corrinne Whitman of the CIA (actress: Meryl Streep) stand as an impediment to the truth.

During the investigation, Isabella learns of connections her husband has to others suspected of terrorism. Could he be a terrorist? Does she really know this man?

And what of Fatima Fawal (actress: Zineb Oukach), the young daughter of the head of the secret prison, Abasi Fawal (actor: Igal Naor), whose boyfriend, Khalid El-Emin (actor: Moa Khouas), is, in fact, an Islamic fundamentalist involved in a terror plot. How could she not know who is? And what is her price for love?

Rendition is especially poignant as a love-story. It deals with the lengths one will go to help their loved ones. It’ll make you think: Can anyone really know another person? Can love triumph despite these uncertainties? Lots to talk about after the movie with your date….