This movie is pure propaganda. The film makers pull out all the stops to elicit a carefully directed emotional response from the audience, but IMHO it fails because their efforts are so blatantly obvious. I find an interesting parallel between the interrogators portrayed in this movie and the movie itself - both end up doing the same thing. The interrogators relentlessly drive their captives in order to get what they want out of them, and the movie does the same thing it's viewers.
Now, instead of contrasting the interrogation of an Arab and an American, if the film makers would have woven together the stories of an innocent person being questioned and a terrorist making his way through multiple levels of bureaucracy - that would have been interesting. But then, that may have resulted in some of the viewers coming to different conclusions than the film makers, something that they're obviously uncomfortable with.
Now, instead of contrasting the interrogation of an Arab and an American, if the film makers would have woven together the stories of an innocent person being questioned and a terrorist making his way through multiple levels of bureaucracy - that would have been interesting. But then, that may have resulted in some of the viewers coming to different conclusions than the film makers, something that they're obviously uncomfortable with.