RED DUST (2006)

Directed by Tom Hooper. Starring Hillary Swank, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jamie Bartlett, Ian Roberts. Drama. Synopsis: A South African native turned New York lawyer returns to her native South Africa to represent the interests of a former poltical agitator turned member of Parliament, who is opposing the amnesty request of the former police officer who beat and tortured him and his friend, before the Truth and Reconciliation committee.

This film takes on one of the more amazing stories of the last twenty years or so, the progress towards reconciliation and the change in government in South Africa. Though it hasn't gotten the attention such a monumental task might deserve, it is almost unbelievable that there has been a-relatively-peaceful change in government and effort to build a multi-cultural society in the former apartheid country.

Considering that very real historic backdrop, that is still playing out, any movie that tackles the awesome topic of victims facing their torturers really has its work cut out to do it justice. I think Red Dust, though flawed in some respects, does a very good job of this.

The story centers around two primary characters, Alex (the shockingly versatile Chiwetel Ejiofor...Amistad, Four Brothers), a former member of the ANC party that was one of the most aggressive in trying ot overthrow the former apartheid government, who is opposing the amnesty application of his former tormentor, Dirk Hendricks (Jamie Bartlett) who must go before the Truth and Reconciliation committee and detail his crimes, including his torture of Alex and his friend, whose body has not been found in the fourteen years since.

Representing Alex is Sarah Barcant (Hillary Swank Insomnia), a native South African who tasted the brunt of the apartheid government as a teenager for the crime of dating a black man, who left her country and is now a notable defense lawyer in New York City. Both Sarah and Alex have their own demons to exorcise.

The film starts off slowly, but builds well in its drama and mini surprising ending. This is, in effect, a court room drama with much of the relevant story told in flashback, a technique that is used very frequently but is not always effective. It worked for me here.

Whenever two characters are as vital to the plot as Alex and Sarah, the chemistry between them is very important. Ejiofor and Swank do a pretty good job here, although with such two talented actors, I expected it to be for the ages. There is no implication of a romance, though that might seem to be the logical story line based on what we learn in the first few minutes of the film. They come to more deeply understand and trust each other, which is necessary to the plot. 

The surprise standout in the acting department is Jamie Bartlett as Dirk, who gives a great multi dimensional performance as the bad guy looking for redemption, and is at turns sadistic, disgusting, empathetic, and admirable. Yeah, I think he pulled it off, i think. Piet Muller (Ian Roberts) is also notable as the unrepentant apartheid hit man.

The movie is filmed on location in South Africa, and many of the actors are obviously South Africans and a good part of the dialogue is in Afrikaans, the language of the region. It is beautifully shot and felt authentic.

Red Dust is a very good story, fiction based on events that are all too real. I didn't see any attempt to ram a political message home, but I'm sure South Africans of different political persuasions might disagree. There is no amazing ending or great action sequences, but a story this good with actors doing this good of a job will, I bet, hold your interest from opening credits to ending credits.