The Reluctant Fundamentalist

"Riz Ahmed, Kiefer Sutherland and Kate Hudson star in this paranoid thriller following a Pakistani man who, fresh from Princeton University and ready to chase glory on Wall Street, is caught in a cultural divide after New York's Twin Towers are attacked."

"Mira Nair’s latest immigrant saga saddles itself with a laborious narrative structure and half-baked thriller elements in a misguided attempt to open up what should be an intimate, introspective story."

"Illuminating."

"Get past the starchy title and you’ll find a compelling tour through noughties history with an admirably international outlook. Be prepared, though: this is a film that takes its time…"

"Ticking-time-bomb suspense is not Nair’s forte, so she relies on Michael Andrews’s Middle East–inflected score to do most of the heavy lifting in the present-day scenes, which feel shapeless and perfunctory."

"Riz Ahmed is superb as Changez (pronounced Chan-Gez, not like the Bowie song)."

"An intriguing film about the blowback involved when melting-pot America goes to war."

"Boosted by a terrific lead turn from Riz Ahmed."

"The tense dialogue between East and Post post-9/11 is turned into a tense, often gripping duet between a young Muslim professor and American reporter."

"Ahmed excels and the set-up is compelling but ultimately this is middle rank stuff from the Monsoon Wedding director."

"Deliberately ambiguous, The Reluctant Fundamentalist provides just enough answers while leaving us with more than enough questions. It's a film that demands discussion afterward."

"This might be the best week for The Reluctant Fundamentalist to open or the worst, but the timing doesn’t matter when the powder is damp."