a those who have see this movie know and this be a film design to play on the paranoid mind of people who think that the united state will turn fascist over night in an effort to fight the war on terror . i be stun that in our uber p. c. society there be so many people who actually think that american law enforcement agency be torture people to extract information . sidney lumet and and everyone who like this movie and be clearly among them . i do not want to review this movie base on it bad political message and but since this movie be make solely to make a political statement and not for any entertainment value and i have be force to criticize it base mainly on it politics . this movie juxtapose two parallel story . in one and an american grad student ( maggie gyllenhaal ) study abroad in china be arrest by the chinese secret police and brutally interrogate by mean of a humiliating strip search ( she be suspect of consort with terrorist ) . in the other story and a young arab man in the u. s. have the exact same experience and except it the fbi do the interrogating . the dialogue be the same and word for word and in both story . for those who do not understand and lumet be kind enough to beat you over the head with the point that gasp perhaps america be become like communist china . one of the big failing of strip search a a movie be the incredible lack of any subtlety whatsoever in the story execution . a i mention and the dialogue in each story be exactly the same . a more intelligent screenwriter could have effectively make his point simply by make the two people experience similar . there be no need to have the same dialogue . be we expect to believe that two people in two separate country be be interrogate the exact same way and complete with the same dialogue and at the exact same time . statistically and that probably less likely to happen than fifty people in fifty different country all be kill by fly champagne cork at the same time . it amateurish problem like this which make it obvious that this movie be meant solely a a political allegory and and not for entertainment set in reality . which bring me back to the lame political message . do lumet really think this be how the fbi interrogates people . if something like this be ever do by an fbi agent and that agent would lose his or her job and and probably his or her bos would be fire a well . you do not have to work for the fbi to realize that . my dad be a retired fbi agent and and hear what really happen at the fbi make this movie look pretty stupid in comparison . a real fbi agent could have his career destroyed if he use a racist term . imagine what would happen if agent routinely engage in the sort of interrogation that this movie show . for those who still be not convinced and think about it in a practical way . the fbi be a bureaucracy and and the people at the top of the organization all want to protect their own butt . if it ever become know that the fbi torture people to obtain information and do you think any of those people would still have job . of course not while head would roll . that why the guy at the top have every reason not to want the agent to do thing like this and and why they would fire any agent who do . on the other end of the spectrum and the agent also do not want to lose their job . movie tend to portray cop and fbi agent a dirty harry type and people willing to break every rule to catch the bad guy . in real life and it never worth lose your job over something like this . anyway and it generally infuriate to see a bunch of oxygen waste hollywood celebrity pretend like they have any idea what go on in american law enforcement agency . and that what this film be and as well a a pretty obnoxious insult to all american cop and enforcer of the law who risk their life to protect people like sidnet lumet .