The Interpreter (22 April 2005)
directed by Sydney Pollack
starring Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, Catherine Keener, Jesper Christensen, Yvan Attal, Earl Cameron, George Harris, Michael Wright, Clyde Kusatsu
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MPAA rating: Studio: Working Title Films, Studio Canal, Mirage Entertainment, Misher Films Script: Charles Randolph, Scott Frank, Steven Zaillian Music: James Newton Howard Running time: 128 minutes Tags: Africa; Crime; Drama; international relations; New York City; Politics; Thriller; United Nations Tactical strength: [6/10]
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for violence, some sexual content and brief strong language
I should probably preface my remarks with a comment about how I perceive Sean Penn. For some reason, whenever I watch a Sean Penn movie, I have an acute awareness of his presences that constantly takes me out of the movie narrative and into the world of criticism. I think Penn has really matured as an actor over the years since movies like Taps and The Falcon and the Snowman, but for whatever reason, his presence in a movie makes it very hard for me to concentrate on the story instead of the actor.
In The Interpreter, Penn plays U.S. Secret Service agent Tobin Keller. Keller works on a detail that protects visiting political dignitaries. In this case, a controversial African leader, Zuwanie (Earl Cameron), will address the United Nations General Assembly. Keller must investigate a possible threat against Zuwanie. Interpreter Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) overhears a threat to kill Zuwanie on the General Assembly floor. As Keller investigates, he finds that Silvia has dual citizenship with Zuwanie's country, and has her own motives for wanting him killed. Keller himself has just recently lost his wife to a car accident, and he tries to continue working while dealing with his loss.
The Interpreter tries to put together a tortuous plot of political intrigue complicated by the personal grief of the two protagonists. Although the script wants us to believe otherwise, I never really believed in Silvia's ability to pose a viable threat, although it does give us enough credible evidence to know that she never really tells her whole story. Director Sydney Pollack does handle one sequence of scenes well. Silvia goes to accost Kuman-Kuman (George Harris) with ordering her brother's death. Her interaction with Kuman-Kuman interleaves with Keller making some important discoveries in his case, and the interleaving heightens the tension and creates the best thriller moment of the film. Unfortunately, this height of tension occurs about thirty minutes before the actual denouement, which doesn't achieve the same tension. Also, I find that Keller having to deal with the loss of his wife really doesn't compare to the genocide attributed to Zuwanie, which took all the members of Silvia's family.
The DVD provides two alternate endings, and I have to say that I found one of the alternate endings much more satisfying than the theatrical ending. I think that Zuwanie reading the names of the dead to the General Assembly does more to tie together the various plot elements than the final chit-chat ending between Keller and Silvia. I think the plot leans too hard on international political elements such as genocide to create a feeling of deep emotional aspects of the characters, rather than just giving the characters complex emotional problems. Still, I enjoyed watching The Interpreter, but I think with some grooming, it could have provided more thrills and a more satisfactory ending.
