bob-rutzel-1 Adib's (Alexander Siddig) daughter goes missing in Damascus, Syria and he must go and find her; but Adib has a secret that has kept him from Syria for 20-years. Actually, 2-secrets. This whole movie hinges on the reason his daughter went to Damascus in the first place when she was supposed to be on her way home to Toronto, Canada. This is very slow going, but consider that if Adib goes back to a country that he escaped from and if caught now he would be arrested. He knows the customs of the country and still knows some people who are in high places, sort of. Language is no problem as he knows Arabic. Ah, but he does go back and knows he must approach everything slowly as there are many secret police units all over the place in this police state. Adib needs help from someone who can do the things he needs done to find his daughter. The help comes from Fatima (Marisa Tomei) who Adib was supposed to marry back in the day, but he escaped and never made contact with her again. And, to be sure, Fatima tells him all about it in a rough and tumble way; and she is still in love with him. Okay, so now you know one secret. So he goes to the Canadian Embassy (Adib is a Canadian citizen) for any help they can provide. He goes to see his old friend in Syrian Military Intelligence, and tries to run down a old Russian spy he knew back in the day to get his help. Adib knows he is being watched by factions of the Secret Police and is acutely aware that he could be arrested at any moment as now people are beginning to see him and do some research about him. But, no tension is felt. This is sometimes suspenseful, but the tension is not there. The acting is fine all around, but also halting as one would expect in a place like this where one must choose one's words carefully. But, still no tension. One thing that bothered me was that he wanders all over Damascus in a new Western suit, which stuck out like a sore thumb; and later he walks around openly in a newly pressed ultra white dress shirt. He should have worn things to blend in more, but the director didn't see it that way. She was never a spy. HA !You will enjoy this if you take Adib's character to be your own. Sometimes you may ask yourself if you would have done anything different aside from the suit and the white shirt, of course. He knows people and needs to ask favors and he has to be careful about it. And, yes, he does get beaten up at times, but still no tension. If there was a way to get tension in here this would be a very good movie. It needed tension. (5/10)Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes, not much.

gradyharp Though this film has been negatively received as being a take-off on the TAKEN films (father looking for daughter under dire circumstances) it is a different kind of film and one written and directed by Ruba Nadda who manages to gives us a story that in many ways explains why the Syrian situation (terrifying chaos) is as it is. If for no other reason than to gain insight on what life in a country infested with many 'secret police' organizations whose drive seems to be shoot now investigate later.Years after he left Damascus under suspicious circumstances (he was a accused of being an Israeli spy), Adib Abdel Kareem (udanese born British character actor Alexander Siddig) is comfortably at work in Toronto when he is confronted with devastating news: his eldest daughter, Muna (Jay Anstey), has gone missing in Damascus. Now Adib, who has not been back in over 30 years, must return to Syria and deal with his secret past in order to find her. Getting a Visa is the first near impossible step, but once in Jordan he calls upon his ex- fiancée Fatima (Marisa Tomei) whom Adib deserted when he escaped to Canada years ago to assist him in ploughing through the red tape and dangers to find his daughter. The Canadian ambassador Paul (Joshua Jackson) is inextricably involved as is Adib's old comrade Sayid (Oded Fehr) and the man with answers Halim (Saad Siddiqui). Inescapable is a thriller about a father's desperate search for his daughter and the chaos of the Middle East he left behind.The film is tense and disheveled at times but that reflects the worrisome chaos of too many factions trying to assist a country who seems unable to find its core values. This is not a great film but it does offer a taste of what life must be like in war torn Syria. And for that it is worth watching. Grady Harp

rgcustomer I'm somewhat baffled by the ratings here. This is clearly not an extreme film, yet there are so many 10s. And 1s.It is a good enough film. It's a sort of detective action movie, involving a Canadian returning to his native Syria to rescue his daughter who is held captive because of something in his past. It kept my attention the whole time (even though I really should have been at home asleep).Some changes I would have made if I had no constraints (a) replace the TV actors with unknowns, and (b) shoot in the mid-east. It's worth delaying the film to make it the best it can be.In summary, it's a competent telling of the "good but flawed Western hero goes to bad non-Western country to rescue lost family member" story. If you want a Canada-Syria version of that story, then this may be that film. I'll have to leave it for others to comment on how accurately Syria is portrayed, as I have no idea.

creespoken-497-98865 This was such an amazing movie. I saw it with my parents at TIFF, then by luck again on the 2nd screening because I had heard Alexander Siddig may be there and I have been a huge fan of his ever since his Star Trek days. And he surely he was there, answering questions, lovely as you can imagine. Inescapable was an amazing tour DE force. Alexander was stunning in it. Contained, raw, selfish, brutal, emotional, stunning. The director was also on hand for the 2nd screening and she talked about the difficulties making this movie and the threats she received from the Syrian state government. This movie was excellent, and not in a Hollywood, cheesy way. Well told, well written. I am curious about some of the comments here - no one walked out at RTH gala - in fact, there was a resounding standing ovation. It was well deserved as well. The ending was beautiful, heart breaking and I never cry and this, like Cairo time's ending, snuck up on me. Some of the comments (specifically from AP) seem to be similar to the comments on you tube and I am curious to see if it is negative comments from the supporters of the president regime. I wouldn't be surprised. This movie and the story was haunting and I am happy when the filmmakers mentioned the sale to the US. This movie deserves to be seen. Alexander Siddig and Marisa Tomei gave Oscar worthy performances.