STRIP SEARCH (2004)

Acclaimed film director Sidney Lumet joins forces with Emmy®-winning Oz creator Tom Fontana to explore the precarious status of individual liberties post-9/11 through two parallel stories - each containing identical dialogues - taking place on two continents half a world away.

The film ingeniously weaves together cautionary scenarios in which two graduate students - one a female American in China (Maggie Gyllenhaal), the other a male Arab in New York - are detained without hard evidence and interrogated about activities which may or may not relate to terrorist plots. The film explores the plights of these very different people, both of whom are relentlessly questioned and then strip-searched by a pair of government officials who are intent on eliciting information to protect the public safety in the face of the threat of imminent terrorist attack.

In the end, Strip Search explores one of the most important contemporary questions of the new century: Must security and safety come at the price of freedom?

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays an unnamed American woman arrested for possible involvement with terrorism. In her most intense performance to date, Gyllenhaal not only strips herself down physically but in a performance where she is forced to defend her own rights to a Chinese interrogator (Ken Leung) in a hot Chinese basement prison. Her portrayal clearly shines as not only revealing her engaging dramatic approach but more of that she was fearless in taking a role that was both controversial and provocative, especially she is known as very liberal with her political beliefs. While Strip Search isn’t in the league with many of Lumet’s past movies like “Dog Day Afternoon”, “Network”, “Serpico”, “The Verdict” or “Running on Empty” (written by Gyllenhaal’s mom Naomi Foner), the film clearly shines through Gyllenhaal’s fiery performance.

Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Glenn Close, Ken Leung
Written by: Tom Fontana
Directed by: Sidney Lumet
Produced by: HBO Films
Running Time: 55 mins
Released: April 27th 2005
Buy: Currently not available for purchase

• Maggie Reviews:

"Maggie's appearance in STRIP SEARCH is remarkable for two reasons: her courage as an actor and her commitment to the truth. The role was incredibly difficult, but she handled it with poise, creativity and humor, and gives a haunting, moving performance. I only wish more people could have seen it..." -- Tom Fontana exclusivly to Maggie-Gyllenhaal.net

• Maggie Says:

"I just did Strip Search [for HBO] and I felt a new confidence doing that film. I think acting demands confidence especially as a young actress. That was the most daring and scary thing I've ever worked on. That really tested me more than Secretary." -- From SuicideGirls.com

• Web Links

HBO Films > Strip Search - Official Site
Internet Movie Database - Strip Search (2004)
Ebay.com - Strip Search - Search for 'Strip Search'
Epinions.com - Movie Review / Article
New York Times - Movie Review

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