BAFTA Award for Best Performance in a Short Film?

I watched the Iranian films of the "apologies" of captured hostages Leading Seaman Faye Turney and Royal Marine Rifleman Nathan Thomas Summers, and I could not help thinking these two brave soldiers look like they came right out of central casting. (Think of a more demure Gillian Anderson and more manly John Cusack. And I am impressed at how she manages to make a black headscarf look fashionable, while he manages to make khaki look appealing against a pink floral backdrop.) When this is all over and the British film industry makes the inevitable movie out of this moral outrage, whoever buys the rights to their stories should really let these two play themselves. (And I hope very much they live to do it.)

Already these two brave soldiers are doing a fine job of acting, come to think of it. Both speak their lines clearly, yet their voices and mannerisms reveal much character. Ms. Turney sounds sad and forlorn at times, even as she speaks her script of warm and happy assurances. She never looks at the camera, and the little pause just before she describe her captors as, "nice people" is suggestive. Mr. Summers, the younger of the two, sounds remarkably honest--even bobbing his head from time to time as if to emphasize his sincerity--but you can see how he glances nervously off camera, listens intently to his prompts, and never, ever smiles. They both show calm and reserve, and sound exactly like hostages are supposed to sound. Very British, indeed.

The making of these short films is, of course, a disgusting attempt at propaganda, coerced either physically or psychologically (for all we know, the British hostages may believe they trespassed, as they cannot review the GPS data as the British government has done). As Prime Minister Blair noted, this kind of exploitative video fools no one in the West... but the real audience for the Iranian filmmakers is probably in the Arab world, and non-native English speakers watching the video in translation may not appreciate the subtleties evident in the hostages' performance. I, for one, can't wait to hear what they say--and how they say it--when they finally come home. May that be soon.