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Movies / On DVD / The Situation
The Situation

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The Situation (2007)

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Reviews Counted:46

Fresh:17

Rotten:29

Average Rating:5/10

Consensus: An ambitious but preachy drama that fails to convincingly parcel its thriller and romance elements.

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Shooting a fictional movie based on a real war while that war still rages is a risky proposition. But director Philip Haas (THE MUSIC OF CHANCE) has taken the plunge with THE SITUATION, a film set... Shooting a fictional movie based on a real war while that war still rages is a risky proposition. But director Philip Haas (THE MUSIC OF CHANCE) has taken the plunge with THE SITUATION, a film set in Iraq as seismic changes grip the country. Connie Nielsen (ONE HOUR PHOTO) stars as Anna, an American journalist who investigates the possible drowning of an Iraqi boy by American soldiers, only to get caught up in the assassination of an Iraqi acquaintance as she travels between the cities of Baghdad and Samarra. In Baghdad Anna hooks up with her casual and disillusioned intelligence officer-boyfriend Dan (Damian Lewis), whose cynicism marks him out from his colleagues. But Anna also finds herself romantically drawn to Iraqi photographer Zaid (Mido Hamada), and when Anna is kidnapped after looking into the death of her friend, Dan and Zaid meet under difficult circumstances, setting out in a desperate bid to free her. Shot in Morocco, THE SITUATION deftly highlights the complexities triggered by the American presence in Iraq. The screen is filled with fine performances from actors who are given the problematic task of bringing to life morally reprehensible characters from both sides of the battle. Lewis and Nielsen both give excellent performances as two people who face duplicity and deceit at every turn, and Haas neatly strings a number of storylines together as the movie slowly weaves its spell. Those looking for answers and solutions to the conflict won't find them here, making THE SITUATION a perfect representation of a war that, as the film is released, still appears to be a long way from resolution. [More]

Starring: Damian Lewis, Connie Nielsen, John Slattery, Peter Eyre

Starring: Damian Lewis, Connie Nielsen, John Slattery, Peter Eyre, Shaun Evans

Director: Philip Haas

Director: Philip Haas
Producer: Liaquet Ahamed, Neda Armian, Michael Sternberg
Studio: Shadow Distribution

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Reviews for The Situation

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

I don't think this movie sheds any new light on 'the situation', but it could have, and it's a shame that it didn't.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
07/09/07
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

A pretty lousy movie in general, though it's the film's somewhat accusatory Iraq War subject matter that's getting it some attention -- deserved or not -- that makes the whole thing a little distasteful.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
04/27/07
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

The concept is strong and expertly fleshed out; it's just a pity that Hollywood tropes are allowed to invade.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
04/13/07
Sandy MacDonald
Sandy MacDonald
Boston Globe

Beneath the melodrama is an insider's account of the seemingly inconsequential details often edited out of dispatches from the front.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
04/13/07
John Monaghan
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press

The essential message in this strongly felt film comes clear: 'It's Iraq.' It used to be bad, but now it's worse. And anyone in his right mind, including Iraqis, wants to get out.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
04/13/07
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News

The Situation' is bound to stir up controversy because of the way Americans are portrayed, and anything that gets people talking and thinking is for the good. It brings the war home, where our soldiers should be.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
03/30/07
Ruthe Stein
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle

It's a credit to the material and the basic plot that even as you're groaning over a clunky speech explaining it all, you're completely focused on what the situation in Iraq actually is.

Full Review Source: Contra Costa Times | comment Comment
03/30/07
Mary F. Pols
Mary F. Pols
Contra Costa Times

[Haas'] attempt to convey the tangled relations between sheikhs and insurgents, occupiers and civilians is undercut by Wendell Steavenson's mightily overwritten screenplay.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/30/07
Andrea Gronvall
Andrea Gronvall
Chicago Reader

Bringing the chaos down to very human terms redefines the paradigm for thinking about the occupation, and makes this a film that is more than a mere exercise in action/adventure

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/30/07
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

There are a half dozen people in colorful supporting roles all of whom have their own truths. And all of whom are far more interesting, as characters and actors, than [Connie Nielsen].

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
03/08/07
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A gripping briefing on the post-Saddam morass of Iraq. The tactical calculus used by sheiks, insurgents, CIA operatives, soldiers, and civilians is ugly, but it's not inscrutable.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
03/02/07
Bill Stamets
Bill Stamets
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Even as it makes a mucky melodrama out of the war in Iraq, this effect does not seem entirely inappropriate, as it accommodates a U.S. perspective of its own actions.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
02/24/07
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

You want better for this film, but the discomfort it causes is not a matter of it being too soon for the audience, but rather, it seems, for the filmmakers.

Full Review Source: Reeler | comment Comment
02/21/07
Michelle Orange
Michelle Orange
Reeler

The Situation does an admirable job of guiding us through an almost hopeless quagmire.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
02/20/07
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper

His heart is in the right place, and our current situation cries out for a film like this %u2026 like this, but much better made.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
02/11/07
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

It's [Wendell Steavenson] first screenplay, and it shows; while not the movie's only problem, the script is a big one, made up as it is primarily of dialogue that isn't just expository, but clunkily explanatory.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
02/09/07
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

The Situation is promoting itself as the first American dramatic feature film to deal with the occupation of Iraq. While that may be true, it turns out not to matter that much.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/08/07
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film would have made a serviceable drama, perhaps, if [writer] Steavenson and [director] Haas weren't so inured to trite utterances.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
02/08/07
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

As ambitious in scope as it is interpretively timid, The Situation delivers the requisite incendiary climax, but collapses in on itself with daft speeches about the elusiveness of truth in something called 'the fourth dimension of time.'

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
02/08/07
Ella Taylor
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly
 
 
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