Jim Threapleton’s debut film turns a timely spotlight on a sadly current topic: illegal torture. In the wake of the War on Terror, dozens of people across the globe have been arrested, detained, tortured, and sometimes released without explanation. The subject was tackled by Michael Winterbottom in last year’s The Road to Guantanamo, and made headlines again when Canadian citizen Maher Arar won damages from the government for its part in his illegal detention. The willfully polemic Extraordinary Rendition (a reference to the abduction and interrogation of terror suspects via private jet to black spots) deftly makes the argument that radicalization often comes through false arrest and torture. When Zaafir is swept off to an unknown location under the flimsiest of pretexts, he is left, afterward, to rebuild his shattered life. This is powerful and relevant cinema, featuring a revelatory performance by Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings).