Review: ‘Profile’ is visually innovative, but narratively flawed

Investigative journalism is a cornerstone of news media and social accountability. From following endless paper trails to expose scandals with sweeping repercussions to going undercover to get first-hand accounts of covert criminal activity harming the community, these reporters perform an important role in society. Driven by their commitment to truth and justice, they endure long hours, brave dangerous encounters, and navigate complex structures and relationships to get the story. However, there’s always the risk of becoming precariously consumed by a subject to the point of making unwise and potentially unsafe decisions. In Profile, a young journalist infiltrates a terrorist recruitment ring, but gets alarmingly wrapped up in her alias.

Amy (Valene Kane) is a British freelance journalist trying to pitch a story linked to the growing number of young European women converting to Islam and leaving their homes to join jihadist wars in other countries. Learning many of these women are contacted over social media, Amy creates a fake profile to get the inside scoop. It’s not long after publishing and interacting with the right posts that someone takes the bait. Working with a news organization, she begins to record regular Skype conversations with an attractive, charismatic man named Bilel (Shazad Latif) who gradually earns her trust and confesses his love. Soon, it’s unclear how deep Amy has gone down the rabbit hole and if she will ever return.

In the same vein as Unfriended and Searching, the entire picture unfolds in the Screenlife format — in other words, on a computer or phone screen. This presentation style is particularly fitting for this film since almost all of Amy’s interactions — personal, professional and the blurred in between — occur on her desktop or smartphone. Director Timur Bekmambetov actually pioneered this format, having produced the aforementioned movies before taking the helm himself for this film. Although this style of filmmaking was introduced prior to the pandemic, it has taken on far more significance under current circumstances as most of our interactions have shifted from in-person to some form of technology. In addition, it’s easy to relate to Amy’s on-screen multitasking as she simultaneously speaks to her editor, searches for information and makes notes via multiple windows.

To an outside observer, it’s very obvious Amy allowed herself to be enchanted by the recruiter. Initially very cautious, she begins to let her guard down and engage in potentially risky idle chatter. She starts to push away all the people connected to Amy and embrace this faux personality, focusing on building a connection rather than teasing out clues for her news piece. Consequently, it’s not difficult to predict how the film will end if the viewer remains vigilant.

Kane and Latif competently carry most of the picture, though it can be difficult to stay engaged in Amy’s behaviour as she strays further from her mission. However, just as the viewer may start drifting, something occurs to draw them back into the narrative. Staring at a computer screen for 106 minutes does occasionally become tedious — especially if that’s already your primary daily occupation — but the story is probably more engaging than some other everyday tasks and it can be somewhat interesting to see how someone else interacts with their technology.

In the end, the film superficially shines a spotlight on this compelling and ongoing phenomenon, while also trying to demonstrate how these young women are groomed and lured — though perhaps a protagonist with a different background/occupation whose gullibility was more plausible may have better served the narrative.

Director:  Timur Bekmambetov
Starring: Valene Kane, Shazad Latif and Christine Adams