Terrorism with a twist
The Siege comes from the same team which brought us Glory and Courage Under Fire - director Edward Zwick and actor Denzel Washington. It's pitched as a thinking man's action drama, not a million miles away from real-life events of recent years.
Taking the 1993 terrorist bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York, and mixing it with the concept of Japanese internment camps of World War II, The Siege examines xenophobia and civil liberties within the framework of an action thriller. However, the script by Laurence Wright becomes confused and a third-act switch in villains forces The Siege somewhat off the rails.
Within an ambitious 110 minutes, The Siege attempts to detail what might happen if a serious terrorist threat was posed to New York City. A special branch of the United States military abducts an Islamic terrorist, Sheik Ahmed Ben Talal, and the FBI receives a cryptic message: 'Release him.' When this fails to transpire, Arab terrorists retaliate by blowing up a New York bus, a packed Broadway theatre and FBI headquarters.
After some debate, martial law is declared and the army moves in - The Siege's 'money' shot is the sight of US troops in combat gear marching across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Washington plays Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard, a New York-based FBI agent whose task is to investigate the bombings, while Annette Bening - in a rare big-screen appearance these days - plays a CIA spy who grew up in the Lebanon. Described as 'the woman who undermined Saddam Hussein' (she could have done a better job), she's an obsessive workaholic who's fond of a drink but good at her job - she also knows more than she can let on about the terrorists, because she's in love with one of them.
The Siege also plays out the distrust which exists between various US government departments - Washington forms an uneasy alliance with Bening, but the truth isn't entirely out there. After martial law is declared, a round-up of Arab-Americans is instituted (difficult for Washington, who has an Arab partner, Frank, played by Tony Shalhoub) and internment camps are established.
Bruce Willis, as General William Devereaux, the new military commander of New York, tells the Arab community: 'This is the land of opportunity - the opportunity to turn yourself in.' The Siege turns into a ringing defence of the Bill of Rights, with the FBI and its allies facing off against the military's cavalier treatment of the Constitution. Washington delivers a speech along the lines of 'the enemy doesn't have to destroy our liberties if we do it for ourselves', and Willis' misguided general rapidly becomes the enemy of the piece, which is slightly confusing.
The Siege raises interesting points, but Zwick's decision to play them off against a standard action thriller backdrop was probably misguided. Like Courage Under Fire, he can't resist the temptation to spend the last 15 minutes of the piece in a sermon, preaching the obvious. However, Washington is a fine actor and holds his own here opposite Bening and Willis (in a very odd toupee) and technically, The Siege is well made.
The Siege is uncomfortably close to home and Zwick, with screenwriter Wright, drives home his points relentlessly. While it is admittedly flawed, at least The Siege makes a valiant attempt at examining prejudices and resulting possibilities, which makes it a cut above standard action fare.
The Siege, Edko circuit
