Camp X-Ray (2014)

Overrated

Captivating movie !

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Peyman Moaadi and Kristen Stewart give phenomenal performances. The story is well written. This is a really well done case study of the inner turmoil and complicated relationship between detainee and guard. I was sucked in almost immediately and couldn't turn away. The writing, the directing, the acting are all top notch.I probably could have done without the boat scene. It did serve a purpose but not enough that I would have left it in. It kind of seemed almost out of place. Like it belonged in Jarheads.The best compliment I can give a movie is that it left me wanting to go back to the beginning and watch it all again, and I did.

Released in 2014, Peter Sattler's Camp X-Ray saw a very limited screening in theaters and an underwhelming payoff in the box office ($10 000 US). Despite the mediocre box office performance and lackluster critical response, I find Camp X-Ray to be an excellent drama that manages to be extremely heartfelt and beautiful while also being emotionally gripping and entertaining. While the supporting characters are surprisingly thin and the story far-fetched at times, these flaws are easily forgivable after considering the excellent performances by our lead actors and an emotionally engaging script and screenplay. Camp X-Ray may drown us in political and moral messages at times, but the main focus is always on the personality of our characters and the forbidden connection between two people with different positions in society.If you are to ever hear someone bashing Kristen Stewart's admittedly questionable acting, refer them to Camp X-Ray, which contains arguably the best Stewart performance so far. While it isn't quite Oscar worthy, Stewart manages to reach a level of emotional depth that we have never seen from her before. She was tasked with the difficult role of a female guard at Guantanamo Bay and she nailed it. Being stern, but still noticeably softer than the male guards, she perfectly captured the emotions and actions based on the tough position she has been placed in. We can easily sympathize with her as all of her actions, deemed unreasonable by society, are completely understandable for us. Peyman Moaadi also does a fantastic job interacting with Stewart's character from the other side of the cell door. While the audience is aware that he could very well be a terrorist, he gives such a truthful and honest performance that we completely forget about that in the end. After all, it isn't about how the characters are different, but how they are the same. While on opposite ends of society's spectrum, they interact just as two people and it all feels incredibly intimate and real. The script and screenplay for Camp X-Ray is also fairly impressive. While the majority of the film's sequences are shared dialogue scenes between our two leads, the script was so tightly and well written that these scenes were incredibly immersive and gripping. We get into many different moral and political stances, and while it may seem excessive at times, it was never the main focus of the film. I did think it was a shame that our supporting characters were so underdeveloped and stereotypical. With such fleshed out lead characters, the paper-thin and bland supporting cast was extra noticeable as they never seemed to serve a purpose other than stand around and act "American". This was quite disappointing, but it hardly did anything to damper the end result that much. There was also a ton of interesting imagery and metaphors for the viewer to think about after viewing. Add this to the excellent script and fast-paced story, Camp X-Ray is an endlessly re- watchable and enjoyable experience. Sadly, there are times where I felt that the political views were slightly askew and quite unjust. The setting of the infamous Guantanamo Bay seems to just be a set piece as we were never exposed to the real injustice that occurred there. I feel that this story didn't really need to be set at Guantanamo as the setting never really seemed to be the focus, and the film never quite warrants the right to use such a recognizable and prominent location.Despite the few flaws, Camp X-Ray is still an excellent film. The acting from our lead actors is impressive, the story is surprisingly gripping and the script is very well written. It can, at times, be quite cheesy and politically insensitive, but this film isn't a documentary. It's an entertaining and emotionally gripping drama that shouldn't be taken too seriously when it flaunts it's political and social values.

The movie is about a young , low level female soldier from a small town. She is assigned to Guantanamo as a guard, and against rules, begins talking to and developing a friendship with a detainee. The set up has every reason to result in a really bad, cliché American film. I give great praise to the filmmakers for not falling into the predictable trap. You know the one "The girl guard rises above sexist insults to become the best of all the soldiers, kicking one of the bad guys in the testicles along the way". Instead, they actually made a good movie. Instead of pandering, they showed the woman as a flawed human being, a nice gal , but a victim of some of her own poor choices. For example , she invites an obvious jerk into the john with her at a party, and he ends up getting too rough. They are not implying she deserved it, but that she should have known better. Stewart does a good job as the hard working guard , who just "sucks it up" when she hits unfairness. They also allow her to make mistakes , like talking to a prisoners at all. The tension builds toward the end where one of the guard /detainee pair is going to do something drastic, and the other tries to help. It unfolds in an original way. I appreciate a movie where the male is not pure evil and the female is not pure good; people, and life are more complicated than that.

This really surprised me.Incredibly moving, brilliantly scripted and quite remarkable performances from the two main characters.The type of film that you might not watch if you simply read the description of it but turns out to be one you'll remember for a long time.It is even more of an achievement when you consider that the majority of the scenes take place between two characters stood on opposite sides of a door! Imagine having that set as a task for you and coming up with anything remotely interesting.I can't commend the direction enough and will look out for Peter Sattler movies in future.