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As a group of terrorists are clearly preparing for a suicide bombing in Nairobi, Kenya, a multinational group of military officers, politicians and lawyers argue over whether to send a drone-guided missile their way. After breaking through with Tsotsi (2005), director Gavin Hood had trouble finding his place in Hollywood, but this British thriller is a step forward. Its concept raises familiar questions regarding the moral and practical difficulties of waging war from behind a desk, through drones. Almost built like a play, the film is well-acted and moves skilfully between its settings, building terrific tension while we in the audience ponder challenging arguments.

2016-Britain. 102 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Ged Doherty, Colin Firth, David Lancaster. Directed by Gavin Hood. Screenplay: Guy Hibbert. Cast: Helen Mirren (Katherine Powell), Aaron Paul (Steve Watts), Alan Rickman (Frank Benson), Barkhad Abdi, Jeremy Northam, Iain Glen.

Trivia: Rickman’s final live-action film. Oliver Hirschbiegel and Tarsem Singh were allegedly considered for directing duties.

Last word: “Alan has the ability to play just absolute emotional truth and yet with real humor and never taking it to the slapstick level. We talked about that. It’s very awkward for me in a sense, that this is his last film, because I wish he were here to talk to you about the film. He was a highly intelligent man, an extremely kind man, and he had a lot to say on this subject.” (Hood, Huffington Post)

IMDb