Profile

"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

Profile follows a British journalist going undercover and infiltrating the digital propaganda channels of the so-called Islamic State, which has been mobilizing ever greater numbers of women from Europe. Her daily Internet contacts with an ISIS recruiter gradually pull her in and push the limits of her investigation. The makers of this have been hyping it up ever since the announcement of its release. Technically, it is a wide release, but I don't think I've seen it playing anywhere. Fortunately, I received a screener and watched it on a whim. The movie has a lot going for it. The story is quite interesting. It's inspired by a true story which makes it all the more crazy and intense. This is a really intense movie especially with how fast it goes by. There were times where I found myself on the edge of my seat waiting to see what move was to be played next. Valene Kane as Amy is really good. This is the first I've seen her in a lead role, but she carries the whole thing. She has to have two different personas-one personal and one for her interviews- but slowly they mold into one. Amy is a developed character. I wish the others were a bit more. Shasad Latif's character does have a good amount of development, and it works it the favor of the message and script. But with the twists and turns, it's dulled down to the obvious.

All of this is good, except one major thing. With the success of Unfriended and Searching, Profile utilizes the computer screen format. In some cases this does work in creating the anxiety. Honestly, though, all it does is limit the potential. Like I said, there's so much working for it, but that just doesn't always work. So many side plots are either not talked about enough to understand, or just dropped entirely. For example, there's a relationship and we hardly know a thing. The thought was there, but the execution kind of drew away from all the good. The conclusion didn't really feel like much of one. It had a chance to end on a different note to add more tension, but it ended just 10 minutes later. For almost every good thing, there's a disappointing aspect just around the corner. I will say I did enjoy Profile. It's not one I feel like revisiting, but with the direction by Timur Bekmambetov it's promising to those who are interested. And who knows, maybe someone will appreciate the computer screen aspect.

It astonishes me that a movie set entirely on a computer screen can be in any way entertaining, and yet all the movies I've ever seen using that concept ('Unfriended 1 and 2', 'Host', 'Searching' and now 'Profile') are terrific. The concept requires a really well crafted script that moves at a lightning pace. 'Profile' does this extremely well too because it never feels like it's rushing either. I had a really good time with this movie.

The thing about this story is that it feels very real. Obviously it is based on a true story which helps, but the subject matter is very raw. Ghosts and demons attacking people can be scary, but it's always in your mind that they aren't actually real. Terrorists on the other hand are extremely real and are always in the deep recesses of our minds. This creates a very uneasy feeling that the film gives to its audience.

I was going to be very interested in how dark the ending of the film got. Found Footage films are notorious for having particularity brutal and ominous endings (one of the main reasons I lover them so much). I liked the ending 'Profile' went with, but I think I would've liked them to take an extra step further to really keep the film memorable. That's one of the only flaws I found though in an otherwise extremely good film. I highly recommend this one.

7/10 - probably my least favorite of the Screenlife thrillers (I have an unhealthy obsession with Unfriended and Searching), but still a really interesting true life story about ISIS recruiting all on the computer screen.

Greetings again from the darkness. French journalist Anna Erelle documented her month-long correspondence with an ISIS terrorist in her 2015 book, "In the Skin of a Jihadist." Her experience resulted in a fatwa being issued for her ... basically an Islamic death sentence on her head. Based on (more like influenced by) Ms. Erelle's story, writer-director Timur Bekmambetov (ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, 2012) and co-writers Brittany Poulton, Olga Kharina bring us a movie version via computer screen storytelling.

Valene Kane ("The Fall") stars as Amy Whittaker, a British freelance journalist with a bright idea for an important story. With so many western girls being recruited by ISIS and sold as sex slaves, Amy decides to track down a recruiter and gain intel on how the process works. She does this by creating new Facebook and Skype accounts under the fictitious name of Melody Nelson, an "almost" 20 year old new convert to Islam who just doesn't fit in to her current world. With the beep of a new post, Melody is contacted by Bilel, a terrorist and ISIS recruiter, whose profile expertly blends cat videos with bombings and beheadings.

Bilel (Shazad Latif, "Star Trek: Discovery") is handsome and charming. He talks the talk and walks the walk as both a terrorist and man who can seduce vulnerable young women via FaceTime. There is a lot happening on Amy's/Melody's screen at any given time. The pop ups come fast and frequently from her hard-nosed news editor Vick (Christine Adams, "Black Lightning"), curious best friend Kathy (Emma Cater), confused boyfriend Matt (Morgan Watkins), and IT specialist Lou (Amir Rahimzadeh), himself the son of a Muslim. As if all that isn't enough, YouTube videos come and go, and Melody is constantly googling the latest topic of conversation so she doesn't give away her ruse.

Artistic license is taken with her in-the-moment research and blunders. Although Ms. Kane is strong in the role, Amy never comes across as a professional journalist on a job. She does, however, expertly play to the stresses - rent due, concerned boyfriend, social commitments, dual personas, work deadlines, and the social media chaos that comes with flirting with terrorists or "making friends with jihadists". It's just impossible to imagine a job like this wouldn't find all parties better prepared and protected.

Still, the reality of young women being seduced and recruited by terrorists is quite real, and this should generate fear in every parent. I kept thinking "that wouldn't happen", all the while my stomach churned with the tension. It's the reality of the threat that creates the fear, but director Bekmambetov effectively uses the online interactions to create a current and urgent scenario.

In theaters on May 14, 2021.

Online seductions are many and varied and not new to those of us who engage with the Internet regularly. Profile takes the online search further than Searching or Her did by showing an undercover journalist, Amy (Valene Kane), being recruited by ISIS as easily as you might order a pair of socks from Amazon. Based on a true story, Profile has cultural and global inferences as many as the seduction techniques.

Brit reporter Amy interacts with recruiter Bilel (Shizad Latif), who thinks she is a naïve young aspirant for ISIS. Such is the power of the Internet to bring world computer travelers together in real time showing real emotions. In a sub-genre of the Stockholm Syndrome, Amy falls for Bilel and eventually agrees to marry him.

Profile doesn't give much information on Amy's background to justify why she falls for the dangerously charismatic, except for her clueless boyfriend, Matt (Morgan Watkins), who is one of the reasons such an attractive woman would go to the other side. Yet, the film is not really about being a recruit for global cult ISIS; it is about how the medium of the Internet, with the dexterity it gives to cons like Bilel, makes crooks out of the smartist of us.

Or should I say in Bilel's case, to a charming grifter are given the tools to conquer the world. On an esthetic note, Valene and Shizad are gifted performers who could sell just about anything. Likewise, director Timur Bekmambetov and writers Britt Poulton and Olga Kharina have crafted a thriller that shows the awful potential of the Net, even more than the notorious ISIS.

Persuasion has a new level of sophistication: Witness two smart operatives persuading each other. Profile will add to your understanding of human emotion and the power of the computer.