Review: Rosewater

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★

“Rosewater” comes to us from first time writer/director Jon Stewart. Yes, that Jon Stewart, host of the long running satirical news program on Comedy Central “The Daily Show.” I must admit, I didn’t think that Stewart had what it takes to tackle such a deep and important topic in his first film. But after watching “Rosewater,” I think I was right because it seems he may have been a little in over his head.

The film stars Gael García Bernal as Maziar Bahari, an Iranian born journalist living and working from England. While working for Newsweek, he’s sent to Tehran in June of 2009 to cover the presidential elections, but was ultimately detained and charged with being a spy. Stewart was drawn to this story because Bahari was actually interviewed on “The Daily Show” just a few days prior to being detained in Tehran. They used his appearance on his show against him during his interrogations not fully understanding that he was on a comedy show. I guess Stewart must have felt partly to blame for it, even though he wasn’t the one asking Bahari any question.

Nevertheless, Stewart has documented Bahari’s story on film and adapted Bahari’s own memoirs into the film’s screenplay. Having never wrote or directed a film before, “Rosewater” definitely feels like the work of a novice. Stewart’s artist choices to deliver exposition are a bit misguided. He’s also stretching for material for the subplots as well. Once Bahari is detained, the film hits the breaks and nearly comes to a complete stop. Stewart stretches the runtime out with a couple unneeded subplots that feature Bahari talking to his deceased father and sister in his cell.  An interesting choice, but one that never lives up to what it probably could have been.

And what could “Rosewater” have been? It probably could have been a very powerful commentary on the 2009 Iranian election protests. It could have been a good explanation to American – or any Western nation – audiences about the politics of the nation. The news broadcasts show the nation’s people excited about being involved in a free and open election, but their elections are just barely free. Why is that? Stewart had a platform to show us, but he never does.

Instead, we’re raced through the elections and through the protests to get Bahari into jail. But once he’s there, we’re just treated to one scene after another of interrogations with his captor Javadi (Kim Bodnia). Bahrain never knew his name, so we just goes by how the man always seems to smell: like fresh rosewater. They don’t want Bahari harmed because they need his face to be broadcast over Iranian television denouncing the West. Therefore, they can’t physically torture him, only talk to him. This is interesting for the first few scenes, but it’s certainly not enough to hold over an audience for the entire duration of a feature length film. The movie only runs a 103-minutes, but it feels so much longer than that.

It's certainly an interesting topic to tackle for a first feature, but there are many areas in which the film could have been improved. I hope that Stewart chooses to continue making movies rather than spend his entire career behind the Comedy Central news desk. He does show his talent from behind the camera, but the subject matter that makes up "Rosewater" is a bit tough for a first timer. But Stewart certainly showed he's not afraid to tackle such a serious subject despite spending the lion's share of his entire career as a comedian. If he doesn't continue to make films, I hope they do illustrate important issues such as this. He's ability to tell a story will improve over time. Not everyone can hit a home run on their first at-bat in the Majors. Stewart falls into this category, but he's not alone.