The War Within Photo

The War Within

Starring: Ayad Akhtar, Firdous Bamji, Nandana Sen, Sarita Choudhury, Charles Daniel Sandoval, Varun Sriram

Directed by: Joseph Castelo

RS: 3.5of 4 Stars

2006

The extradition and torture of Pakistani engineer Hassan (co-writer Ayad Akhtar) sets in motion his transformation into the very thing he was not: a terrorist. While driving a cab and living in the family home of an old friend in New Jersey, Hassan follows the orders of a cell ringleader who rationalizes his own women-and-drink debauchery: "It's good to taste the freedom that will destroy them." This searing depiction of our seemingly endless "war on terror" hits home in every sense.