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“Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” stays with you long after the last frame.
It’s supposed to.
Its star, Jake Gyllenhaal, says it’s just that kind of movie. The Oscar nominee is convinced that the R-rated “Covenant,” opening April 21 in theaters, succeeds as both edge-of-the-seat entertainment and a potent parable about the core values — integrity, valor and a dogged desire to do the right thing — that are the essence of the American ideal.
“It’s about being the kind of American I want to be,” said Gyllenhaal during a recent Zoom interview, in which he was joined by co-star Dar Salim. “That we have a goodness ingrained in us, and that we know what it takes to be a hero, sometimes begrudgingly.”
In “Covenant”, the versatile Gyllenhaal — who’s starred in films ranging from 2005’s groundbreaking “Brokeback Mountain” to such box-office juggernauts as 2019’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” — once again fully flings himself into a meaty part.
This time, he portrays U.S. Army Sgt. John Kinley, a confident leader who, after a devastating ambush, is saved by Afghani interpreter Ahmed.
Back in the United States, Kinley struggles with the loss of his troops in that 2018 ordeal as well as his need to repay the debt he owes his savior, Ahmed — who lugged the wounded soldier’s body over miles of hostile Taliban-infested terrain. Ahmed’s heroics have put a target on his and his family’s backs, propelling Kinley to take action to cut through the red tape preventing Ahmed from getting to the United States.
Ahmed’s character is initially greeted with wariness by the focused Kinley, who doesn’t mince his words about wanting his new interpreter, a replacement for the previous one who was killed in an attack, to stay in his lane and merely translate what’s said. Kinley eventually learns he needs to grant Ahmed more latitude for the sake of everyone.
The two eventually develop an alliance that only strengthens.
It might seem unusual that a British filmmaker known best for crowd-pleasing capers-and-cons flicks such as 2021’s “Wrath of Man” and the two “Sherlock Holmes” films with Robert Downey Jr., is helming a tense drama depicted mostly from an American viewpoint. But Gyllenhaal and Salim felt Ritchie brought a refreshing perspective and new dimension to “The Covenant.” Ritchie was reportedly inspired to make the film while working on another war-themed project and watching documentaries on the War in Afghanistan and learning about the plights and sacrifices of interpreters.
“Having a Brit telling a story about this is very interesting,” Gyllenhaal says. “And it does take that sentimentality out of it.”
Salim, a prolific actor and huge star in Denmark (among his many roles was Qotho in HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), says the film stays true to the characters of the soldier and his interpreter, who form a reluctant bond at first. He adds, “both choose to do the right thing without being sentimental about it and without saying ‘Look at me, I’m doing the right thing.’ Instead, “they just do it.”
Ritchie and co-screenwriters Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies did extensive research to create the fictional composites of the two central characters and learned of the risks that interpreters take (an estimated 200 have been killed in the 2001-2021 War in Afghanistan and subsequent fighting).
Gyllenhaal and Salim, meanwhile, tapped a variety of sources to lend authenticity to their roles.
In Gyllenhaal’s case, he consulted with Zachary Iscol, a childhood friend who fought in the Second Battle of Fallujah in the Iraq War and is a decorated former Marine. Iscol is now commissioner for the New York City Emergency Management Department, and Gyllenhaal collaborated with him on the Headstrong Project, a program to help veterans with mental health treatment.
Iscol, Gyllenhaal said, told him that his interpreter in Iraq saved his life. That person now lives in New York City with his two daughters, Gyllenhaal adds.
“What I knew of interpreters and their soldiers and their counterparts was through Zach.”
Through the years, Gyllenhaal has also read accounts of interpreters’ sacrifices and how many are facing additional headaches after the war; an estimated 60,000 interpreters are still awaiting visas in Afghanistan.
What Gyllenhaal gleaned from Iscol’s accounts and other stories is that interpreters do more than bridge a language barrier, many provide a soldier with vital insight into a culture’s attitudes and codes of conduct.
“One of my favorite lines in the movie is (when Kinley says) ‘You’re here to translate.’ (And Ahmed replies): ‘No I’m here to interpret.’ I think understanding the culture, understanding the behavior is what interpreters really do, and in that way they are invaluable and continue to be.”
Salim’s own past as a refugee — he was born in Iraq and relocated to Denmark when he was 6 — and his associations with veterans and interpreters helped inform his performance.
The extra-busy 45-year-old actor finds his career gaining more momentum. He’s celebrating the arrival of not one but two films he’s in getting released nearly at the same time. The other — “Darkland: Case Closed” — is a sequel to his 2017 masked crimefighter hit in Denmark. It opened there last week.
Even on a Zoom call, it’s obvious that Gyllenhaal and Salim respect each other and have developed an easygoing camaraderie and. They enjoy joking around (just check out their Instagram posts), echoing the similar playful exchanges that Gyllenhaal and his “Spider-Man” co-star Tom Holland had.
Their friendship becomes particularly evident when Salim is asked if carrying around the extra-fit Gyllenhaal, who recently showed off his ripped physique while shooting a UFC fight scene for the upcoming “Road House” remake, was particularly challenging given that Gyllenhaal muscled up for the role.
Gyllenhaal laughs that off and says the shoot was done before his intense training. But Salim credits his co-star for having the tougher part during those arduous scenes, which like most of the film were shot in 2022 in Alicante, Spain — a locale selected because it somewhat mirrored the topography of mountains in Afghanistan.
“It was actually harder for Jake because he was in the cart,” he said. “And with two or three people around him literally throwing dust in his face.” Then there was the team who applied generous dollops of fake blood because Ritchie wanted to really make the scene feel authentic.
On a more serious note, “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” addresses how frustrating it is to deal with the many layers of American bureaucracy to try to get an interpreter such as Ahmed a visa and passage to a safe haven.
Could this movie maybe help move that process forward?
“I think it’s a thousand tiny cuts, right?” said Gyllenhaal.
“The thing that I realize about art in particular is that hopefully what it does is inspire people somewhere to see themselves, to see other people in a different way. I think that’s all that you can hope for when you tell a story.”
“You know, (actors) are not politicians,” he added. “We’re not in the middle of that conversation. I chose a different path and that path was through fiction as a way of pretending to get to the truth…. If this movie does anything to bring light to people we didn’t know about and to remind people about how extraordinary those relationships are and how many lives interpreters have saved and the incredible work that they did and then maybe bring some people over here who deserve to be. Then oh my God that will be beyond worth it.”
He stops and then adds: “We just do our jobs the best we can.”
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