Mira Nair’s latest project “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” is not her best film. But it could be her most important. The story (based on the Moshin Hamid novel of the same name) speaks to the nature of perception between East and West in a world forever changed by 9/11.

While most films surrounding a post 9/11 world tend to favor the Western point of view, this film’s main character is a young Pakistani professor named Changez Khan (Riz Ahmed). The story is told in flashbacks as Changez is being interviewed by an American reporter named Bobby Lincoln (Liev Schreiber) in Lahore following the kidnapping of an American professor.

“Looks can be deceiving” is one of the first things Changez says to Bobby before the interview and it is a theme Nair plays with quite literally throughout the movie. We initially see him painted as a potential suspect in the kidnapping before his back story is revealed: A Princeton graduate, an associate at the top hedge fund in the world and a relationship with Erica (Kate Hudson), a beautiful artist with a troubled secret. Nothing is as it seems initially and by the end of the film, you end up questioning your own preconceptions and prejudices.

Nair intelligently weaves back and forth between the flashbacks and the interview with Bobby. Though it lags at certain points, they are outweighed by several bold and powerful moments scattered throughout the film. Changez’s initial reaction to the attack on the World Trade Center is a mix of horror and awe. Ahmed paints his reaction with a slight smile, which will undoubtedly make viewers uncomfortable. But the decision to include that in the film shows Nair’s commitment and courage to telling this story without compromise.

Changez and Jim Cross sit in the car. Photo by Ishaan Nair. Copyright Reluctant Films II, Inc.

The performances are all very strong. Kiefer Sutherland plays Jim Cross, Changez’s boss in New York who takes him under is wing, as pragmatic, ruthless but also somehow fatherly. Kate Hudson brings an unnerving amount of grace mixed with anxiety to Erica. The cultural differences between her and Changez come to a head several times and the relationship is explored very comprehensively by both Hudson and Ahmed. Some might say the chemistry is not electric, but I would disagree. Their love for each other is evident, but it’s the landscape in which they develop that engulfs them both.

Liev Schreiber’s character serves as a conduit for the audience and he does a fantastic job of illustrating the dangers of jumping to conclusions. But the real standout here is Riz Ahmed as Changez. He transitions effortlessly from being completely unlikable to empathetic and torn between two worlds. The challenge of playing one character at several different moments of their life would be difficult for a seasoned actor and Ahmed makes it look like he’s been doing this for years. Keep an eye on him, he’ll be going places.

As I said earlier, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” is not Mira Nair’s best film, but it should go down as her most important. It’s rare when the viewer’s journey during a movie can actually mirror that of the characters. At the end of the story, as Bobby reminisces on his judgement of Changez, I found myself doing the same. As he said to begin with, “Looks can be deceiving.”