Living

<< Previous   of   Next >> Overture Films photo  (click to enlarge) Guy Pearce (left) and Don Cheadle are shown in a scene from "Traitor."   ADVERTISEMENT   "Traitor" Layered: An arms supplier (Don Cheadle) gets involved with a Middle East terrorist group, as a batch of U.S. agents try to track his progress. This one gets off to a clumsy start, with too much well-meaning dialogue, but eventually the spy-movie stuff kicks in. Guy Pearce co-stars. Rated: PG-13 rating is for violence, language. Now showing: Alderwood Mall, Everett, Marysville, Mountlake, Egyptian, Guild 45th, Meridian, Woodinville, Cascade Mall   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Be patient: 'Traitor' spy flick gets good By Robert Horton Herald Movie Critic An espionage picture that wants to be relevant to our times, "Traitor" is about two-thirds of a very effective movie. Maybe it's good that those two-thirds come at the end of the film. This one stumbles out of the gate. We meet an international arms supplier, Samir Horn (Don Cheadle), an American Muslim. He is arrested during a deal in the Middle East, and two FBI agents (Guy Pearce and Neal McDonough) try to crack him. Soon Samir is loose in the world of terrorists again, and the agents are scrambling to find him. It takes awhile for "Traitor" to drop its other shoe about all this, but when it does, it should come as no surprise to most audience members. These early reels are laced with exchanges about U.S. foreign policy and the misunderstanding of Muslims. Whatever their validity, they make for deadly dialogue, and the movie plays like a well-meaning primer for people who haven't thought about these things before. Right about the time a government official (Jeff Daniels) finds himself getting deeper into the story, the film begins to perk up. Maybe it's just the layers of interlocking deception kicking in, but suddenly the script by director Jeffrey Nachmanoff starts clicking. Of course, it's a spy movie. You pretty much have to have layers of interlocking deception. Add a triple-cross or two, and you've got yourself a plot. "Traitor" also distinguishes itself with a brutal attitude about who's expendable in the cast. That's cool -- at least there are some jolts. Speaking of the cast, this might be the least macho line-up in any action movie of recent vintage. Cheadle, Pearce and Daniels could just as easily be doing Shakespeare in the Park, although when required to, they bring in the knuckles. Guy Pearce's Southern-accented, counterintuitive G-man is intriguing, especially because he spends half the movie defusing his hothead partner (Neal McDonough, trying too hard). He and Cheadle both work in a less-is-more mode that comes across well. The story idea for "Traitor" was dreamed up by Steve Martin, one of the film's executive producers. Somehow this is proof that everybody wants to write spy movie.

1. Emory’s owner fears fire was arson 2. Monroe honking case makes it to state Supreme Court 3. Vatican ponders the souls in space 4. 81 veterans' names, 81 meaningful lives honored in Snohomish 5. Hope dims that Olympics will boost region 6. Student hit in crosswalk to return 7. Smokey Point to celebrate end of roadwork 8. Death on Edmonds waterfront ruled a suicide 9. Help for young moms may continue 10. Semifinal slate sealed on ‘Dancing With Stars’ 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Bazaar Fever • Hawks proud of historic season • Olson always put Edmonds first • Honoring student veterans • ‘Wheedle' author comes to Lynnwood bookshop • Mavs build early lead en route to easy win • Prep football games of the week (state playoffs) • Tears of laughter, tears of grief • Death on Edmonds beach likely a suicide • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million