I found this enjoyable after watching this. I mean, if you look at it, it is more aimed at telling a message than being anything outstanding but yet, it was fun and what fine performances. I also thought that though it served little purpose overall, the story being rather forced and even lazy, it was still alright.
Good enough to watch, though hardly top notch. Enjoyed Sean Penn's acting and Nicole Kidman didn't disappoint either. Slow to get into it and fairly easy to see where it's going when you know how these kind of films work. Doubt I'd watch it again but it's enjoyable nonetheless.
United Nations South African interpreter "Silvia Broone," who inteprets in the UN General Assembly for the (fictional) South African country, "Motobo," who overhears a conversation while getting her things she had to leave behind when the building was evacuated earlier in the day. The conversation just happens to be in in the "Motobo" dialect.
The conversation she hears, through an open mic on the General Assembly floor, is about an assassination. It takes her a few seconds to realize the conversation is about killing the "Motobo" leader. She then goes to report the conversation to her UN superiors, who contacts the Secret Service to help protect and escort the "Motobo" leader to the UN. Secret Service Agent "Tobin Keller," a widower for a little over two weeks, is put in charge of the Secret Service team, and he immediately has to deal with "Broone" keeping details of her past to herself.
We are slowly shown glimpses of "Broone's" past as the film progresses. "Keller" really starts going after her, the more she refuses to talk about her past. Pollack was real smart by not dumping information almost immediately, nor does he give us the info seconds apart. In fact, Pollack keeps the audience guessing as the movie unfolds.
The performances are pretty strong in this movie, especially from Kidman and Penn. There is some problems with character development however, especially with supporting characters.
Kidman, who actually learned the fictional language of "Motobo", has a very thick African-sounding accent that really helps the character. She also makes you believe that the fictional language is real when she easily speaks lines in that language.
The special effects are kept to a minimum, surprisingly. There is some gunplay and explosions, but that is basically it.
The film makers were given special permission from the UN to film at the UN Headquarters building, which is a first in the organization's history. They didn't even give Alfred Hitchcock permission. Because of this, the film is really believable.
There is some good camerawork in the film, especially when the story begins to reach its climax. There are also lots of suspenseful moments which keeps you on the edge of your seat during those scenes. There is also some scenes which seem to drag some.
Despite minor flaws,this is one that could by worth taking a look at as a possible first choice the next time you rent a movie.
this film looks right good, cant wait to c it----not that good actually, takes too long to get into the action bit, but then again they do only show you the good bits on the previews
nicole kidman and sean penn put in great performances in the movie it was entertaining and thrilling was great watch was what i expected and didnt dissapoint
I consider this a waste of an all star cast and director. The story was heading nowhere fast and then people get hunted only to realize it was because of their connections. I dont find this interesting at all and there was no suspense to keep me watching. The saddest thing of all was that I watched this on its premiere and I felt really sleepy 10 minutes in. I only stayed away because of my admiration for Kidman.
A suspiciously good political thriller, especially since it is in a genre that has a hard time gaining success and attention due to the lack of success the category typically receives. I personally give it a 3.25 of 5 - Nicole Kidman might have done her best acting yet in this film; but sadly, the film drags on too much and could have easily packed a bigger punch in a smaller amount of time. Despite this, the film has some good underlying themes and is worth the viewing.
When I started watching this movie, I thought it was pretty good. But once it hit the two hour mark and I realized that I wasn't paying attention and I didn't miss anything in the story line, I didn't have any interest in finishing it.
It was a little better than okay. Sean Penn was wonderful as always and I am a big Nicole Kidman fan and she did well too. It was an interesting story but there was nothing completely unique about it. I do love the part where the passage of the dedication from the book was read.
hard to get into, and there's nothing too terribly special about it. nothing wrong with this film, but the way it's presented, the dialogue, even parts of the story, are just like any other film in its genre.
Story about governmental' cruel but it didn't go deeply in the problem..but i liked the last quote by the end of the movie..i saw some love in Penn's and Kidman's eyes , i love them both.. and they are perfect..such countries need hero.. just like mine
Todays Movie 25/2:
Action with Nicole Kidman & Sean Penn. Kidman didn'r really get through (maybe cause she plays an african) but Penn really stepped out to the plate.
I liked this film, it shows Kidman in a different film. I normally dont really like thrillers but along with Sean I thought the casting was brillant and the story cleaver
I have to say, I was very excited about seeing this film after viewing the previews. It starred two incredible actors (Sean Penn, Nicole Kidman) and was written/directed by veteran Oscar winning filmmaker Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa, Tootsie). I expected a sophisticated, thrilling and highly entertaining political drama, and I got kind of half that. About 50% of 'The Interpreter' is entertaining and suspenseful, and the other 50% is tedious and on the brim of being flat out boring. The film was very sophisticated in the way the dialogue and plot turns carried themselves, but not nearly enough to get us intrigued. The film seems to promise an always thrilling political conspiracy game, but we get mostly long conversations between Penn and Kidman about pointless subjects not having to do with the assassination attempt. I felt kind of cheated by that.
The film revolves around a South African interpreter for the U.N., Sylvia (Kidman) who one day is up in her booth doing work after hours. She accidentally listens in to a conversation in an African dialect probably ten or less people in the United States understand. The conversation revolves around killing the president of their nation, Zawanie. Sylvia reports this to the C.I.A. and agents Keller (Penn) and Woods (Catherine Keener) check into her statement to see if it's actually true, and if it is to get information out of her and put her under witness protection from the African assassins that try to get to her, after she's discovered as having heard the discussion of President Zawanie's future murder. This leads to a bunch of interesting moments in the storyline, but also leads to some dead-ends.
There are many things 'The Interpreter' doesn't explain or takes too long or too short explaining for the film to flow smoothly. If I was hard pressed to say, I'd speculate that the interesting scenes outweigh the tedious scenes by a tad. To explain it more clearly, when 'The Interpreter' is boring, it's so boring you probably will dose off, and when 'The Interpreter' is interesting, it's so interesting you'll be on the edge of your seat in anxiety and suspense. The acting is very good, both Penn and Kidman give incredible performances, especially Penn who provides us with a deeply-layered emotionally scared work-a-holic who transitions into a better person when he's around Sylvia (Kidman's character). Catherine Keener does a fine job as always (it's a shame such a great actress is limited to supporting roles most of the time), and the director of the film, Sydney Pollack, has a short role as Sean Penn's boss. The directing of the film is consistently engrossing, but the writing has it's ups and downs. The screenplay is laced with intelligent dialogue, but it always seems to drag in certain places. I think Pollack could have thought this out more, and that's the most frustrating thing about watching this movie -- knowing it's good, but it could be so much better. In the end, it turns out to be more of a love story then a political thriller. Many will be angered and/or disappointed with this because the movie trailers don't present a clear picture of what the film is really all about. I should have taken the hint when pretty much all of the movie previews before 'The Interpreter' began showing were chick flicks.
In conclusion, the film doesn't even live up to half it's potential. This could have been the best film of the year thus far, but I guess Pollack and I have different views on what makes a political thriller work. I was expecting a shot of adrenaline and got a shot of estrogen. If you go see 'The Interpreter' in the theaters, make sure you see all the other movies you wan't to see beforehand. I barely recommend it based on the two great lead performances. Grade: B- (screened at AMC Deer Valley 30, Phoenix, Arizona, 4/24/05)
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