"The Siege" (1998) - Movie Review

“The Siege” is the film which is hard to forget personally. Not because of its movie making but seeing it at home in India right before the September 11 attacks and unknown about the disaster, myself and my brother were thinking how terrifying it would be to have army in the city. After seven years, as a film it remains as one overly Hollywood-ized under the shady lights of true events forming a plot. It is not thrilling as it is meant to be and it sparsely gets up to talk about the rights which of course are amplified strong enough by the power voice of Denzel Washington as FBI Agent Anthony Hubbard.

New York City is put in complete disarray and chaos by series of bombs starting off with a tricky prank in a bus blowing blue paint with no casualties mounting up to bringing down the FBI head quarters to ground. Watching the blasts and after math was unsettling considering the reality which happened later. The investigation and the crooked display of how it is been handled by the fictional government is the film which falters way beyond than I remember viewed seven years by me in bits and pieces. Bruce Willis as Major William Devereaux wears a constant smirk of patriotic stupidity and the uptight conversations delivered as an exercise than from a character. Does military personnel are devoid of sense of humour or a slight smile on their face even in the mildest conversation involving work? How do they get by without smiling or a piece of compassion to their fellow mates or country men? If Arab Americans are told to be depicted as stereotypes, then Devereaux is a stereotype Hollywood military General whom no one likes.

There are crucial scenes which have made a mark on me and one of those will be Washington astonished by the simplified discussion of torture techniques Devereaux contemplates on exercising over a prisoner clearly deemed as innocent. It loses its moment right after it when a gun shot is heard as soon as Washington walks out the door. Why would they kill if they want to extract information? It is clearly a shot made for an effect of the blunder the army does in the name of saving lives. Unfortunately it is more ridiculous than it sounds when looked on the screen.

The film focuses on three faces comprising defense, offense and covert operations of United States government being the FBI, Army and CIA. Introducing herself as Elise comes Annette Benning who obviously seems to know more than Washington and less to reveal to any one including herself on the horrendous gullibility of her improper trust. Of course there is a back story for her behaviour which comes way too late than it should have been. What “The Siege” ignites though is the pre and post 9/11 followed by a war and how much it had which the current films on post 9/11 tries to tell. And the information and emotions are used off hand in a serious compromise for thrill.

Director Edward Zwick’s film has a pattern which seems to be predominant. It has the Hollywood action glorification with a perspective on issues really on hand. It is a flimsy side to go through as the compromise is critical. The art of balancing has been exemplified in many of his films and muddled in few films too. “The Siege” falls in the latter. The symbols of the polished cut out characters are too dramatic and procedural which puts doubt on the level of commitment Zwick had in talking about the problems of fear and discrimination.

I have believed that this film was good. The impact of the army people with equipments on the streets of New York City brought lot of questions and considerations during that time. It got written hard enough by the tragedy that followed the day. I watched it merely to see how it appeals now and it was not nearly as good or thought provoking as I used to think. Zwick’s “Glory” had problem of losing its charm in unnecessary dramatization. “The Siege” is no different.