Amira & Sam movie review & film summary (2015)

There are kinks in its progression, of course. Sam (Martin Starr) and Amira (Dina Shihabi) have a rough start upon their first meeting. He's visiting Amira's uncle Bassam (Laith Nakli), who served as a translator for Sam's unit in Iraq and whom Sam saved during an ambush. Amira's brother was killed in the crossfire during a different attack, and she sees Sam as just another American soldier who, in her mind, is as responsible for her brother's death as the soldiers who were there that day.

It's a pretty big hurdle, but Mullin sees personal connections as indeterminable feelings that go beyond politics and history. Bassam explains how Sam saved his life, upheld a promise to see him again, and presented him with the star from a burnt American flag he tried to save during the firefight. Whatever prejudices Amira previously had slowly dissipate—at least for this man—as she starts to learn that he's not representative of American foreign policy or the soldiers who couldn't protect her brother. He's just a decent guy.

With her internal obstacles to overcome, Amira is the more intriguing part of the pair, although Mullin's screenplay is far more interested in Sam. His problems are entirely external and more than a bit contrived.

They begin honestly enough. Sam is fired from a security job at an apartment building after locking a group of disrespectful, drunk residents in an elevator. His cousin Charlie (Paul Wesley), a hedge fund manager who helped him get the job, offers Sam a chance to woo a prospective investor—a Vietnam vet named Jack (David Rasche)—with the promise of a hefty commission if the multimillion-dollar deal goes well. The movie is set during the summer of 2008, mere months before the financial crisis. As one would expect with such a loaded setting, there is an obvious aura of corruption in this subplot.