Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (June 18, 2023)
Most war movies focus on soldiers. While that becomes a strong aspect of Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, the story also looks at bonds between combatants and support staff.
Set in 2018 during the Afghanistan War, US Army Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) works with local interpreter Ahmed Abdullah (Dar Salim). After a rocky start, the pair develop mutual respect, and eventually Ahmed goes to heroic extremes to keep John alive during extremely hazardous situations.
Though the government promised to bring Afghan interpreters and their families to the States, they drop the ball in Ahmed’s case. John feels he owes a literal life debt to Ahmed and travels back to Afghanistan to extricate his colleague.
Given that the last paragraph of my synopsis reveals the resolution of the film’s first half, it might fall into spoiler territory. As much as I hate to reveal potentially “hidden” plot information, I didn’t sweat it here because John’s rescue mission becomes such a crucial part of the story.
As with many movies, Covenant cares more about the journey than the destination. Sure, we know John will survive, and we can probably figure out what will happen with Ahmed as well.
Does any of this semi-predictability damage Covenant? Not in the least, as Ritchie delivers a taut and compelling drama.
One for which I admit Ritchie seems like an unlikely match, though. Best known for glib, violent gangster flicks, Ritchie doesn’t feel as though he suits this kind of earnest tale.
Sure, Covenant comes with lots of combat, and Ritchie knows his way around that sort of material. However, despite its prevalence, the war scenes don’t become the focus on the movie.
Instead, we really get a character drama dressed up in violent clothes. When battles occur, they do so to motivate the narrative, not to exist as action set pieces.
I wouldn’t want to refer to Covenant as a platonic love story between Ahmed and John. Honestly, it feels like the men more respect than genuinely like each other.
Instead, the tale deals with the bonds of brotherhood in times of crisis. It absorbs honor and obligation as themes, and it explores them well.
As noted, virtually nothing about the narrative we get here should come as a surprise. However, Ritchie manages to tell this story in a dynamic manner that keeps us on the proverbial edge of our seat nonetheless.
Even if we sense where matters will go, the execution ensures that we sorta kinda question these assumptions. Ritchie presents the dual quests – Ahmed’s work to keep John safe and then John’s attempts to extricate Ahmed and family – as thrillers and forces us to worry about various fates despite our awareness of how the tales probably conclude.
A good cast helps, and I appreciate how much of the movie focuses on Ahmed’s POV. Too many movies of this sort concentrate on the white character almost exclusively and deal with non-white roles in a supporting manner.
Yes, Gyllenhaal comes to us as the star, and he does act as the central aspect of the story. However, he spends a lot of the movie’s first half incapacitated, and that allows Ahmed’s side to come to the fore.
Both lead actors fare well. Gyllenhaal offers a solid turn as the cynical but still duty-bound veteran, and Salim brings real personality and spark to the interpreter with more skills than the average bear.
We find excellent chemistry between these two as well. They never beg for love or audience affection, and they make their interactions without the overt, sloppy sentiment that would ruin many movies – and ring false for these parts.
I can’t claim Covenant reinvents any wheels, but it works. A tight tale of characters in wartime, it becomes a rich, involving tale.
