TRAITOR [PG-13]
review by Robert Newton

Don Cheadle leads an engaging and pedigreed cast in first-time director Jeffrey Nachmanoff’s tense thriller Traitor, in which Cheadle plays Samir Horn, a deep-cover government operative who may or may not be working with the terrorist cell he has infiltrated to stage a series of bombings across America’s heartland. The screenplay, which Nachmanoff also penned (sharing a story credit with Steve Martin), is a far cry from the formulaic fodder that was his script for the 2004 floater, “The Day After Tomorrow.” It is a smartly-acted slow-burn with a payoff that comes in the form of one of the best endings ever.

The big-budget 1998 star vehicle “The Siege” only attempted to address some of the issues that come so naturally to “Traitor.” Matters of faith versus patriotic loyalty are keenly handled, and the peaceful core of Islam is separated out from the bastardized version embraced by extremists. The film also serves as an efficient illustration as to how terrorists and their cells might go about undetected, something that made Showtime’s “Sleeper Cell” so morbidly fascinating for its tragically short two seasons.

Cheadle (”Talk To Me”) is mesmerizing, teasing us with the “is he or isn’t he?” question for as long as the story allows. Guy Pearce (”Factory Girl”) makes a strong showing as FBI agent Roy Clayton, and serves very nicely as Cheadle’s whitebread proxy. Neal McDonough (”Tin Man”) plays his partner Max Archer, a fixed position that contrasts Clayton’s elastic view of men being more than a thumbnail view of their religion would allow.

Expect a super-charged “Bourne” clone and be disappointed; go in with an open mind and be pleasantly surprised by a fierce little thriller that is so much better than its unfortunate late-summer berth would lead you to believe, an appropriate parallel considering the film’s major theme.•••

Robert Newton is the editor of Worcester Movies.