INESCAPABLE and Gender Inequality

Toronto’s Metro News took a fresh angle when reviewing Inescapable and interviewing the cast and director: the film’s portrayal of gender inequality in the Middle East, specifically in the character of Fatima, played by Marisa Tomei.

Siddig, meanwhile, says he actually saw the inherent limitations placed on her character take a certain toll on Tomei.

“Marisa was really uncomfortable during the filming because of the fact that Fatima was boxed in,” said Siddig, best-known for roles in “Cairo Time” and the long-running “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”

“I don’t think Marisa, being a Brooklyn girl of Italian heritage, is remotely comfortable with that as a person.

“Because Arab women are at the mercy of their husbands, the men around them, in many circumstances,” he added. “A few break out, maybe the ones that live in the West, but the ones that are still there are rudderless ships at sea.

“They wait and hopefully get married to the right guy, and hopefully he doesn’t beat her up too much. I’m painting a bleak picture but it’s not too exaggerated, it’s not hyperbolic.”

(Read the full article here…)