The Interpreter (Widescreen Edition)
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Movie Reviews of The Interpreter (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: Ridiculous Ending Spoils Good Movie
Summary: 2 Stars
Seldom has an ending been so disappointing and ruined a good film as this one.
For most of the way, this was a slick thriller, nicely photographed and nicely acted. Sean Penn is outstanding in here. I like to see him play low-key characters instead of hot-headed sleazeballs. Nicole Kidman also gives a good performance. Sometimes her classic beauty hides the fact she can act.
The story was pretty involving, hard to put down once you've started. My only complaint up to the ending was the obvious plug for the United Nations. This looked a public relations piece for that organization.
However, then came that ending - a real insult to anyone's intelligence. In a nutshell, nobody would go the extremes they went to here to protect a visiting dignitary, using all that manpower and machinery....and then leave him all alone in a room at the end! Are you serious??? It was unbelievably stupid and ruined what had been an entertaining and somewhat- smart film.
Movie Review: BETTER THAN WATCHING PAINT DRY!
Summary: 2 Stars
2.5 Stars
I just finished watching this motion picture and have to wonder why it was packaged as a "suspenseful thriller"? My heart beats faster during a Wednesday night IDOL vote off! This film had a great cast but there was no character development. Oscar winners Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman star in this movie about African politics that come to the United Nations. Penn is the secret service agent who is assigned to protect Kidman's character. She is a United Nations interpreter (from Africa) who overhears a plot to assassinate the president of her own African country. There are also gripping scenes that take place in Africa showing the horrors of genocide.
What could have been touching and poignant scenes were just flat and unemotional. I cry during television commercials yet I wasn't even sad during parts that normally make me sob. Even during the scene where the rifle was being assembled to 'pretend' shoot Zuwanie, I didn't care if Sean Penn's character made it to the sound booth or not.
I think the story was a good one but could have been better. I enjoyed the shots of the United Nations and of New York City. Nicole, as usual is lovely to look at. I did sit through the entire film so I did find it mildly entertaining; I just wouldn't watch it again.
Movie Review: writing the script as you go. . .
Summary: 2 Stars
In the DVD bonus materials, Sydney Pollack admits that casting and shooting on this film started without a script. His comments suggested that this movie was written as they went. All the silly plot and character twists are proof that approach was taken to this movie, start to finish.
The Interpreter starts quickly, suspensefully, gets bogged down in the middle, and has a corny, boring ending. The first hour of the movie is promising. The second hour is almost regrettable.
What derails it is the forced twists and turns that only make sense due to the injection of a (rather uninteresting) back story. Because I do not want to spoil the entire film, I'll leave out details. Suffice it to say, the movie would have been better had it followed the plotline suggested very early on, i.e. that Nicole Kidman's character, Silvia Broome, simply stumbled upon an assassination plot. Instead, her past is tied in with the events that unfold throughout the rest of the film.
It's as if Hollywood writers and/or directors these days cannot resist bringing multiple subplots together to (artificially) create suspense. Not every so-called "action thriller" needs an ironic climax. Most films in that genre do not seem to use the device particularly well -- most seem to overuse it -- and The Interpreter is one such film.
Nicole Kidman does a great job with the character and "script" but her character is ridiculously improbable. At the risk of giving away too much, a person of Ms. Broome's (political/activist) background would never get a job as an interpreter at the UN.
Sean Penn's character, Tobin Keller, is interesting and well-played, but he seems more New York City detective, maybe low-level FBI, than Secret Service Agent. Looking at him on the screen you can almost smell the alcohol on his breath. While clearly a bright guy that knows his job, Keller does not seem like the buttoned-down, highly-disciplined prototypical Secret Service agent.
The portrayal of the UN as a body that is greatly concerned about "genocide" in Africa rings hollow. In reality, the UN has sat by idly while various African nations have torn themselves apart through civil war, inter-tribal fighting, genocide, political corruption, AIDS, and a score of other ills. Given the reality, Pollacks' UN lovefest is puzzling to say the least.
Movie Review: Better than I had anticipated
Summary: 4 Stars
It's always a nice surprise when movies turn out better-than-expected. The Interpreter, thanks to Nicole Kidman, was not just thoughtful, but involving. As with anything having Sean Penn in it, it was somewhat top-heavy in the 'message' department, but Kidman's elfin grace saved the day. Her portrait of a 'white' woman-and fair-haired as well; which kind of drives home the point-whose 'home' is a country where white skin is a cause of social displacement, discrimination and alienation, was understated and therefore effective. By comparion, Penn was ponderous and colorless; which is possibly as it should have been. His character, despite a contrived background that served mainly as a tool for some contemplative philosophy of life and death, remained essentially shallow and undemanding.
The pacing of the story was uneven, but in this instance that was an asset. There was too much heavy stuff in here, which required some down-time on the part of the audience. All in all, the dosage was well measured and applied judiciously.
For those who wonder, after they saw the movie, just what exactly was the 'point', or what it was all 'about'-apart from it being a political polemic, which, of course and sadly, it was to a large extend...
Well, it's all in the ending-which in this movie does wrap things up, showing up the dismal and near-uncrossable gulf that will always exist between people who have something to live for and those who basically don't.
Till Noever, owlglass.com, Author: KEAEN, SELADIENNA, CONTINUITY SLIP
Movie Review: Is she who we think she is?
Summary: 4 Stars
Academy Award winning director Sidney Pollack brings together fellow Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn and turns in a pretty intriguing film. The movie works during the first 30 minutes as a US interpreter hear about a possible assasination attempt on a controversial African leader. Then the film goes into a lull of boring dialogue for the next 25 minutes. Then the suspense starts up again as we find out she's being followed by unknown assassins. Then another boring lull of dialogue! The climax of the film finally brings all the pieces of the puzzle together, saving the film from certain destruction. There's enough mystery and suspense to keep you entertained. Recommended!