Review of Camp X-Ray (2014) by Devilmath — 26 Sep 2015

Camp X-Ray is the first feature from Peter Sattler, who takes on writing and directing after many years as graphic designer for several notable films (Walk The Line, The Game Plan, Star Trek, Take Me Home Tonight). Entirely set in Guantanamo, the U.S. prison in Cuba, the story revolves around the unusual relationship between Cole, a rookie guard played by Kristen Stewart, and Ali, a suspected terrorist played by A Separation’s star Payman Maadi. Cold and indifferent, Cole doesn’t immediately get on well with Ali, who bothers her from the very beginning. Their quarrel over the presence of a Harry Potter book in the prison’s library is an original (although quite lenghty) device to introduce the two characters and set the premises for their relationship; it is also one of the few striking sequences in the film. Despite Sattler’s meticulous and researched approach to creating a plausible and realistic prison, Guantanamo is nothing but a setting for the conflict between the two main characters.

This choice creates two issues that drastically impair the film. The first issue regards the oddity of dealing with highly controversial Guantanamo Bay with a detached point of view. The U.S. prison is the elephant in the room that Sattler chooses to ignore; by his own admission, he didn’t want to alienate half of the audience by taking a position pro or against it. The film fails to address the very context it’s set in, creating a forced, unsatisfactory void. The second issue concerns the casting. Whereas Maadi is a flexible and engaging actor, Kristen Stewart hasn’t yet fully matured since her Twilight years. Much of the dissatisfaction left by the film is due to her credibility as lead actress, especially in the main storyline and her exchanges with Ali, but also in the subplot involving her army superiors. For a film that bets so much on characters, Camp X-Ray hits the mark only partially.