Top Cast
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a political thriller film directed by Mira Nair, based on the novel by the same name by Mohsin Hamid, about a Pakistani man working on Wall Street. A Cine Mosaic and Mirabai Films Production, the film stars Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland, Meesha Shafi, Liev Schreiber, Riz Ahmed, Om Puri and Shabana Azmi. Produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher, the film is set to be released in early 2013. The film opened the 69th Venice International Film Festival in August 2012.
Critic Consensus
Critical reception for The Reluctant Fundamentalist is mixed-to-positive, with most reviewers acknowledging it as a relevant and visually rich adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's novel. Mira Nair's direction and her ability to retain the source material's ambiguity while exploring themes of identity, fundamentalism, and post-9/11 geopolitics drew the most consistent praise. Common criticisms centred on an overly contrived or unsubtle screenplay that failed to fully engage emotionally, with some feeling the film played it too safe with its inflammatory subject matter. A handful of critics placed it among Nair's stronger recent works, though others found it falling short of her earlier films.
11 reviews · 9 positive · 2 mixed
AI-generated summary of 11 critic reviews · may contain errors
Report inaccuracyCritic Reviews (11)
"The film could have done with more finesse in the way it begins and ends, but there are enough subtle shifts in the main act to keep me with it. After Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is Nair's most engaging work. - See more at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/review-the-reluctant-fundamentalist-is-mira-nairs-most-engaging-work/1117080/0#sthash.mwL52ECG.dpuf"Read full review ↗
"Apart from the all-too-contrived screenplay – really, how much dramatic licence can you grant irrelevant flashbacks? – Nair's tiresomely tangled film articulates too little and too late."Read full review ↗
"Mira Nair takes on the daunting task of adapting Mohsin Hamid's 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' and skillfully transforms a monologue into an engaging plot. She weaves an elaborate tale, infusing it with warmth and texture."Read full review ↗
"Its sensitive yet unsubtle narrative succeeds at retaining the book's ambiguity, as well as raising pertinent questions on Islamic fundamentalism, emigration and USA's interference in Pakistan. Nair captures the finer nuances of the thought-provoking tale with great conviction."Read full review ↗
"While you may ponder over the particular prism that Mira Nair chooses to look at these issues, you cannot doubt that The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a powerful, gripping/bold film, well worth a watch in the theatre."Read full review ↗
"Spare time for this one, if you truly want to give sanity a chance, in the fast turning topsy-turvy world of us vs them."Read full review ↗
"The film is trademarked by Nair's love for opulent frames. The ethnic Sufi score in the background adds to the rich tones on screen. Indeed Mira Nair always manages a new twist when it comes to presenting eastern exotica for the West."Read full review ↗
"The Reluctant Fundamentalist is everything and perhaps more than what you would expect from a Mira Nair film. The plot is superb, the direction is good, and the acting is good enough."Read full review ↗
"Mira Nair's interpretation of Mohsin Hamid's novel is an inhibited work trying to be politically correct while dealing with inflammable issues. Sheathing too many subtle emotions that the book had elucidated well, the film doesn't go beyond being average."Read full review ↗
"The Reluctant Fundamentalist ends up being yet another 9/11 inspired tale with all the expected ingredients, but we wish the film maker had engaged and challenged us a lot more like her previous efforts"Read full review ↗
"In spite of its relevance in today's time, the film's pace and lack of emotional connect makes Mira Nair's latest film a tad disappointing."Read full review ↗
Cast & Crew
Cast
- Riz Ahmed · Changez
- Kate Hudson · Erica
- Liev Schreiber · Bobby
- Kiefer Sutherland · Jim
- Om Puri · Abu
- Shabana Azmi · Ammi
- Meesha Shafi · Bina
- Imaad Shah · Sameer
- Chandrachur Singh · Bandy Uncle
- Adil Hussain · Mustafa Fazil
- Victor Slezak · Underwood
- Clayton Landey · Agent Jackson
- Mark Oliver · Ruddy Immigration Officer
Details
- Release Date
- 17 May 2013
- Runtime
- 130 min
- Language
- English
User Ratings & Reviews
3 ratings from the community
Community Reviews (1)
This may not be Mira Nair's best work, but like all her earlier films, the common denominator here is the 'human experience'. The frustration that comes with racial profiling and mistaken identities is all too familiar to the brown population living in the West. As is their deep longing to be connected with their roots and their motherland. The title of the film (like the book's) is apt and Nair does plenty of justice to it. That 'fundamentalism' is a dangerous ideal - in any realm, is a thought provoking message. On the down side, all the flashback stories in the film manage to eclipse the present tension and there isn't really a sense of danger if that's what it wanted to evoke. And while most of the story is very believable, some characters like the girlfriend (Kate Hudson) come through as strange exaggerations and in a way, they appear to be Western stereotypes. Wonderful Pakistani music as usual.
