The Reluctant Fundamentalist is one of those films everyone should see. The main character is a Pakistani who goes to an Ivy League University in the United States and then moves on to a corporate life in New York City prior to 9/11. He grew-up wanting to be an American, but he suddenly finds himself being viewed as an enemy after the Twin Towers are struck.
The struggle that he undergoes is an analogy for Pakistan. He wants the American dream; however, it won't have him as he is, represented through a seemingly doomed relationship and the alienation he undergoes at work. He is young, and hasn't yet found his truth. His journey to finding it is the underlying drive of the film.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist captures the modern world, but there is a couple drawbacks. Kate Hudson is miscast. She is too old for the role, and isn't quite capable of handling the character's strong emotions. Though, it doesn't help that her romance doesn't take the full course that it does in the book. The rest of the cast is outstanding. Riz Ahmed handles the protagonist with dignity and grace, Kiefer Sutherland portrays an Executive roughly without overdoing it, and Liev Schreiber represents the audience's gaze with the proper dichotomy. In Liev's final scene, he expresses the exact same feelings I had when finishing the novel.
The struggle that he undergoes is an analogy for Pakistan. He wants the American dream; however, it won't have him as he is, represented through a seemingly doomed relationship and the alienation he undergoes at work. He is young, and hasn't yet found his truth. His journey to finding it is the underlying drive of the film.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist captures the modern world, but there is a couple drawbacks. Kate Hudson is miscast. She is too old for the role, and isn't quite capable of handling the character's strong emotions. Though, it doesn't help that her romance doesn't take the full course that it does in the book. The rest of the cast is outstanding. Riz Ahmed handles the protagonist with dignity and grace, Kiefer Sutherland portrays an Executive roughly without overdoing it, and Liev Schreiber represents the audience's gaze with the proper dichotomy. In Liev's final scene, he expresses the exact same feelings I had when finishing the novel.