Oscar-winning South African director Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) makes his American debut with this politically charged thriller about "extraordinary rendition" - the US government practice of seizing suspected terrorists, and whisking them abroad for detention in secret prisons. Egyptian-American Omar Metwally is circumstantially linked to a terrorist group, and renditioned for interrogation. As his determined, pregnant wife Reese Witherspoon presses for answers in the US, another chance of rescue lies with CIA analyst Jake Gyllenhaal, who undergoes a crisis of conscience after Metwally's torture. The ensemble cast also includes Meryl Streep, whose tough turn as a cold-hearted CIA superior invokes a little too much "wicked witch" to be strictly believable. The surfeit of characters clutters up the plot, with each given too little screen time, while a needless split time frame is an added irritant. Nevertheless, this is decently made and a worthy Hollywood calling card for the director.