With Brad Anderson at the helm, the 2018 political thriller film ‘Beirut’ offers a bleak picture of the volatile city, torn by war and violence. After an attack on his house, diplomatic negotiator Mason Skiles leaves Lebanon, only to return after ten years under changed circumstances. While looking at the city, Mason sees his unfinished project firsthand. The past seeps into the present with the kidnapping of a dear friend, and the kidnapper is someone Mason knows. The film is by no means a generic thriller, and like the closing credits, which use an Arabic writing style and English script, the film doesn’t try to fit in. If you can’t make out the last moments, let us help you. SPOILERS FORWARD.
Beirut Plot Synopsis
Diplomat Mason Skiles hosts a grand party at her home that doubles as an attempted mediation between the two sides. As Mason discusses with foreign attachés, Lebanon is like a house without landlords, and the tenants know nothing better than betrayal. Due to the interest of his wife, Nadia, Mason has taken Karim, a Palestinian boy, under his wing. Cal, his friend at the embassy, ​​however, becomes tense and reports that people are looking for Karim.
Karim’s brother, Rafid Abu Rajal, is a wanted terrorist suspected of links to the Munich Olympics attack, Israelis say. Shortly afterwards, the wanted terrorist arrives at the scene and rescues his brother, setting off a violent spectacle. Meanwhile, Nadia dies in the gunfire and Mason, a tragic hero, returns to his homeland. The diplomat starts work as a labor arbitrator at the New England Chamber of Commerce.
One fine evening, ten years after the incident, Mason encounters long-time client Sully, whose government supervisors want Mason to give an academic lecture in Lebanon. It’s 1982 – the damaged hero returns to a damaged city and discovers that the university address is a pretext. In reality, he must hone his impeccable bargaining skills to rescue Cal, his old friend, from the Militia of Islamic Liberation, a faction in the Lebanese Civil War. Cal’s kidnapper, much to Mason’s dismay, is Karim.
Beirut ends: who has Rafid Abu Rajal?
As it turns out, the Israelis don’t have Rafid Abu Rajal, and Gaines tricked Mason all along. He praises the idea that the Israelis have Abu Rajal, and they go to an air base for a secret conference with Roni Niv, an Israeli official. The Israelis want better satellite coverage for the war, and the US is ready to help. However, it turns out that although Abu Rajal is on their list of wanted criminals, he is not in Israel.
It turns out Bashir and the PLO have Rafid, which satisfies Cal’s suspicion. Cal’s information may know Rafid’s whereabouts, and during the brief encounter, he cryptically says to Mason, “Tell Alice I pray she only loves me.” Pray, love, only – the initials indicate PLO, and that’s how Mason comes in. Mason also learns from Cal that Gaines cannot be trusted.
Apparently, Gaines took money from the station fund. Cal also tells Mason about the family album, which hides a clue. Mason comes to Cal’s house to look for the hint, which was Cal’s whistleblower report, but Sandy has already taken it off the album. After the revelation, Sandy appropriates $4 million from Gaines’ illegal profits. They take it to Bashir so that they would release Rafid.
Is Rephid dead or alive? What happened in the aftermath?
Rafid dies in the finality of the story. Mason keeps his part of the deal and takes Rafid to Fadya Crossing. However, it is slightly later than the time suggested by Karim. Karim and his henchmen prepare to leave, but Mason and Sandy bring Rafid just in the nick of time. Rafid Abu Rajal is not the person to play by the book.
Seeing his brother’s efforts pay off, Rafid tries to kidnap Mason as well, yelling around with a gun. Teppler, a Mossad agent working with Mason, kills Rafid before the situation can escalate further. With the death of Rafid, the story comes to an impasse. Karim and his militia may return to the US, because everything has a price.
There were widespread kidnappings during the 1982 civil war. The victims were mainly Western deputies and officials at the embassy. Cal is one of the lucky few to survive the nightmare and escapes with only minor scratches. However, the US had to pay a hefty price in 1983, when bombs exploded in the US embassy during the lunch hour. In 2003, the US court in Washington DC held Hezbollah responsible for the attack.
Will Mason and Sandy end up together?
At the end of the story, Frank Whalen, the US ambassador to Lebanon, asks Mason if he is interested in the vacant position of the embassy. After being robbed of his illicit fortunes, Donald Gaines resigned and Ruzak flew back to the US. That’s why there’s a power vacuum at the embassy, ​​and we don’t know if Mason will take the job.
However, things are looking good now that Mason asks Sandy Crowder to dinner, though he tends to keep things subtle. After Nadia’s death, Mason struggles to cope with the loss. However, ten years after Nadia’s death, it seems that Mason can finally move on. Cal says with conviction that he prays that Alice loves him. With the cryptic connotations aside, we think his affair with Sandy isn’t going anywhere. Therefore, Mason may take the job and end up with Sandy. But the latest images of the US embassy blast remind us that the story doesn’t have a happy ending.
Read more: Where was Beirut filmed?
