Tahar Rahim (A Prophet, The Serpent) stars in this engaging drama based on real life events from Scottish director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland). Based on Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s best-selling memoir Guantánamo Diary, The Mauritanian tells the story of a man accused of being behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks and held without charge by the US Government.

After being apprehended by the CIA in his native Mauritania in 2002, Slahi (Rahim) is transported to Guantanamo Bay detention camp where he is subjected to daily interrogation and torture. As Slahi fights for his right to be tried legally, his new lawyer Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) believes she can help get him in front of a judge to prove his innocence.

Despite its contrived Hollywoodian approach, The Mauritanian remains largely affective as a critique of America’s treatment of terror suspects held in Guantanamo. Notwithstanding the ambiguity over Salahi’s possible guilt, Macdonald is still able to garner just enough sympathy for his subject to make us root for him, which is no mean feat.

Rahim gives an exquisite performance as the crafty, resilient and unequivocally likeable Slahi, while it is a return to form for Foster who is given a part truly deserving of her true talent.

Elsewhere, Woodley gives an impressively understated turn as the conscientious young lawyer who falls for Slahi’s charms.

Overall, while the procedural aspects of the legal case sometimes gets in the way of the existential and moral side of things, Macdonald still manages to tell a truly riveting story, one which needed to be told.