Michael Franco tries far too hard to convey the aggression of CIA agents and soldiers interrogating what might well be the wrong man in this 50-minute thriller.
The intention is probably to be Kafkaesque, but the plotting and shouting don’t really work.
The idea is good though. An American who claims to be innocent is tortured by a quartet of officials, though they don’t ever seem to be searching for any information.
Instead, three seem keen to get kicks from kicking etc their guest, while the fourth attempts to play the nice guy.
The underlying message that the US is not above interrogating its own citizens is politically powerful but the execution (no pun intended) doesn’t provide support for the proposition.
None of this can have been too pleasant for writer/producer/leading man Franco, who has created a role that requires him to be trussed up and treated in many unpleasant ways until a final twist that is at least unexpected.