Skeptics Step Aside: ‘Rosewater’ Packs a Punch

Emily Manthei

TV mock-news comedian Jon Stewart had received many skeptical sidelong glances for his foray into feature filmmaking. After all, the skills that go into reporting fake news are a little different from those required to tell the true story of an Iranian-British journalist’s four-month confinement in an Iranian prison. It wouldn’t seem like the comedian’s toolbox had the right raw materials. But after a strong showing earlier this fall at Telluride and Toronto,  November finally sees the limited release of “Rosewater,”  when all of Stewart’s fans (and nay-sayers) will have the chance to see for themselves what a strong debut he has actually made.

Based on Maziar Bahari’s 2011 best-selling memoir, “They Came for Me,” the story begins with the events leading up to Iran’s disputed election in 2009. Bahari, portrayed here by the pitch-perfect Gael Garcia Bernal, is a journalist who has just left his pregnant wife back in London to do a series of reports about the election in his home country of Iran. With a camera in tow, he begins some sanctioned interviews and takes footage of both supporters of the sitting president and the up-and-coming challenger. Amid his duties in the country is a brief interview for a “Daily Show” segment with Jason Jones. As protests erupt in the streets in the days and weeks following the disputed election results (which citizens felt were mis-counted in favor of sitting president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad), Maziar finds himself awoken one morning in his mother’s house and dragged to a holding cell in solitary confinement. A blindfold and four concrete walls will be his only sensory experiences for the coming months.

At first he’s unsure why he’s being held, but when the interrogator (a man whose only identifying mark for the blindfolded Maziar is the smell of rosewater) commences, he discovers that the Iranian government is convinced he’s a spy for unknown Western powers. To support their claim, they produce evidence like the plethora of “pornos” found in his house that include classic TV shows like “The Sopranos”, his membership on Russian novelist Anton Chekov’s Facebook fan page and the “Daily Show” interview with Jones. It would be laughable if it wasn’t terrifying – or is it the other way round?

What is pleasantly surprising – although it shouldn’t be unexpected, coming from Stewart – is the light touch with which Stewart uses the material. Because it is, in fact, laughable. Maziar’s sense of humor about the absurdity of his situation is used to great effect to humanize him and keep him grounded, connected to the outside world that he doesn’t quite know actually exists anymore. Although this is surely a function of Bahari’s original book, Stewart’s script and his deftly navigated direction weaves the character’s isolation together with the still small voice of hope in a way that balances the tension of his situation with a gentle wink of comedy. It’s a “sparkle in the eye” that keeps the tone just light enough while not undermining the realism of the situation.

Bernal is also a major contributor to this tonal consistency, as he’s able to switch from sincerity to parody at the drop of a hat without making it look stagey or overwrought. His performance, instead of being one of those touted, Oscar-worthy “tour-de-force” types, is deceptively understated and layered. There is a scene in the film, after Maziar realizes that his interrogator, “Mr. Rosewater,” has a habit of calling everything “porn,” that he decides to use his captor’s interest to his benefit. Mr. Rosewater, slamming Maziar’s head on the table, asks, “Why were you in New Jersey so many times? Tell me!” Maziar’s shoulders drop as he shudders. “I’m ashamed to tell you.” “Tell me!” Rosewater demands. “It was for… the massages.” Rosewater’s eyes light up as he encourages Maziar to continue, taking a seat behind him. “I’m so ashamed, I shouldn’t tell you,” Maziar teases, and Rosewater again begs him to go on. “You know what happens in New Jersey, don’t you?” Rosewater nods in anticipation, and replies, “Everybody knows what happens in New Jersey.” A tiny flicker of a smile crosses Maziar’s face.

Scenes like this, played for comedy and subtlety are what make this film so delightful and strangely humanizing. Although we know Mr. Rosewater is the “bad guy,” he’s never really portrayed as all that bad of a guy. He’s got a job to do, just like any other 9-to-5-er. He calls his wife to tell her he’ll be late, he hates his boss who won’t give him a promotion. He’s just a regular guy, but his job just happens to be torture. Its nuanced choices like this, which expose the shades of gray and a surprising number of similarities between Iranians and Americans that really play to Stewart’s strengths as a political commentator and comedian.\

The overall theme of the film is hope, and the ways in which Maziar is able to keep his spirit well fed. Replaying conversations with his family members, living inside the world of his favorite books and films, singing music in his head, and most of all remembering that he’s not the person they say he is, are shot and acted in a way that is clever, but not cheeky or unrealistic. In one exceptional scene, Maziar weeps into the ghost of his sister’s lap: “I’m so afraid.” “Afraid?” she replies. “You aren’t the one who is afraid. It is they who are afraid of you – the one who bears witness to the truth.” And, the real-life Bahari says, it was at that moment that he knew he would write down all his experiences for the world to know.

‘Rosewater’ opens in theaters November 14.