The protagonist of "ExPatriot" has a habit of rehearsing the line, "My name is Riley Connors," as if she is uncertain about her own identity. Indeed, personal identity is one of the major themes of this film.
Riley felt that she was being a patriot when working at the CIA, and she decided to turn whistleblower. But her act of disclosure inadvertently led to the deaths of sixteen civilians due to her overreach.
Through the help of a dedicated journalist, Estelle Battro, Riley flees to Columbia, where she is living in guilt until offered the opportunity of redemption from her old lover, Bill Donovan, at the CIA.
By the time Bill betrays her, Riley has to wonder if there is anyone she can truly trust. Even the Ruiz brothers whom she sets up would appear to have some degree of a moral compass due to the guilt Fernando feels for his past sins. Should Riley at least give Fernando the second chance in life that she covets for herself?
Estelle's brother, Jaime Battro, is writing his college thesis about Riley, and the title is "The Tortured Hero." In many ways, it is the audience of this film that is tortured due to the convoluted nature of its action and the operatic finale that stretched credibility beyond the pale.
The location footage was well chosen, and Riley Conners was an intriguing and haunted central character. Still, the result was only an average film due to the inability to tie together so many disparate strands. "ExPatriot" played out like a midrange draft of a film project that included far too much violence and ran out of steam at the end.
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