Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant
For expediency’s sake, I will simply be referring to this film as “The Covenant.” I understand Guy Ritchie’s name is in the title because of several different movies with the same name, but this review doesn’t need the full title every time. One of the most impressive things about “The Covenant,” however, is how successfully it stands on its own, not only in Ritchie’s filmography, but when it comes to films about the War on Terror. Because it’s one of the more morally dubious military conflicts in American history, the films about our post-9/11 conflicts do not allow for much of the same easy heroism as WWII films, for example. In “The Covenant,” it finds its character’s heroism while also challenging the ways in which America has failed its mission, or at least, the people it recruited for its mission.
In 2014, one of the early episodes of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” discussed Translators whom have aided American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan during the War on Terror. Not only did the piece have an interview with one, such interpreter, whose story illustrated the ways in which the government has failed the men who helped Americans over there, but went through the complicated process of what they have to go through. “The Covenant” is not based on a specific true story, but it plays true with the emotions and anxiety of the situations Sgt. John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ahmed (Dar Salim) are going through, and it is riveting every step of the way.
Early on, Kinley is at a checkpoint with his squad in Afghanistan when a terrorist’s bomb takes out a couple of his men, including their translator. They need a new one, and Ahmed is highly recommended, although some are uneasy about working with him. At first, Ahmed’s instincts seem to be more- or less- trusting of his fellow countrymen as Kinley would like, but as they track down the truth about leads they’ve discovered, Kinley will need to trust Ahmed like never before as a firefight with Taliban forces leaves them on the run, and Ahmed with Kinley’s life in his hands. When the roles are reversed later, Kinley- racked with guilt- hopes to repay him.
Ritchie’s visual style shifts from film to film, and genre to genre. Here, he and cinematographer Ed Wild keep things kinetic in a similar way to past Ritchie films during the action, but Ritchie also eschews the quick editing and slow-motion techniques some of his movies have employed. By doing so, and given us a greater sense of the adversity that faces Kinley and Ahmed, we feel suspense with them as they are fending off the Taliban in Afghanistan, as well as a deeper feeling of the emotional toll and stress the situation has for both men. This is a film about a bond being formed, and promises that go with that bond being kept, and while Gyllenhaal is certainly the primary star here, Salim is also fantastic, giving us a full picture of Ahmed as a father, a soldier, a brother, a husband, and a friend that goes beyond simply playing off of Gyllenhaal very well. And I love how Gyllenhaal continues to challenge himself with the material that he chooses in collaborations with filmmakers like Ritchie and Michael Bay; yes, we’ve seen Gyllenhaal as a soldier before in Sam Mendes’s “Jarhead,” but this is a completely different type of character, and more in line with the versatile character work he’s been doing over the past few years.
“The Covenant” uses the backdrop of war to tell a story about heroism, friendship, loyalty and the madness inherent in bureaucracy that jumps between war film, thriller, survival drama, psychological thriller and rescue mission. Ritchie hits all the beats wonderfully, building to this film’s climax. This shows the director in control of his form, and his ability to keep us riveted with whatever he makes.
