The Interpreter

I was interested in seeing The Interpreter since it looked like a good adult drama. Unfortunately, the movie has some problems.

The big plus of the movie is Kidman. She is one of those women who actually looks better as she ages, and she is a talented actress. Sean Penn is also a good actor, and both do a great job in the movie.

Unfortunately the good acting can't overcome the weak script. I felt like the story was still a 2-3 drafts short of being ready for the screen. The biggest problem was that there are plot holes you could drive a truck through. I also felt the movie dragged through most of the middle as they tried to develop the strained relationship between the principle characters.

If you are a plot-driven movie fan, as I am, the movie is likely to be a disappointment. If you are a acting-driven movie fan, you will probably like the movie more.

Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) is an UN interpreter. She overhears two men discussing a mysterious plot in an African language. "The Teacher will never leave this room alive." Allege war criminal Matobo president Edmond Zuwanie is coming to address the UN General Assembly. She becomes convinced that the threat is against Zuwanie and tells the UN security. U.S. Secret Service Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) and Dot Woods (Catherine Keener) are assigned to protect Zuwanie and they investigate Silvia. It turns out that her family suffered under Zuwanie and she is connected with the opposition.

This starts as an interesting thriller with the UN as a backdrop. The political intrigue is somewhat engrossing like a murky 70s thriller. Kidman is cold and Penn is a bit unstable. I wish his character is the protagonist and the audience can unravel the intrigue from the outside. Kidman's character is better with mystery. The movie should keep some distance from her. The audience should keep guessing about her. I do have a few questions about the ending and it drags on a bit too long. It should probably use an alternate ending.

The Interpreter is an extremely packaged political thriller that contains only a little punch. The main reason I gave it a go was Sean Penn who seems to rarely make mistakes selecting his work. Nicole Kidman can be a mixed bag, and Sydney Pollack a competent seasoned veteran director. All three performed well without setting the screen alight.

The use of the United Nations building was a big plus and definitely gave the movie more realism. It also gave the viewer more of an idea on what a massive organisation the UN is.

Even though "The Interpreter" was enjoyable the ending was definitely a disappointment. It wasn't that it was necessarily wrong, just that you knew what was coming. This was the "Hollywood Factor" showing through. Perhaps the reason it didn't turn into real Hollywood trash was the fact it was filmed and produced in New York.

Sydney Pollak has directed a lot of good films over the last 40 years, and this, though not his finest work, is one. But it's just 'good'. Pollak has a great sense of pacing and character development, and he puts both to work to good effect in this suspenseful high-stakes terrorism drama. Kidman and Penn deliver solid and memorable performances and are joined by an excellent supporting cast. The acting talent, clever though predictable plot, superior production and cinematography, and fearlessly quirky script are what makes this film work, despite a few rather absurd plot points.

Kidman unsurprisingly, dominates the screen with a powerful portrayal of a young South African translator for the UN, who overhears a plot to assassinate the genocidal president of her home country, Motambo. Penn plays a hard-nosed, recently widowed investigator assigned to the case. As the plot escalates, it becomes clear that Kidman herself is also a target and that she has secrets...

There are some problems with believability here. Most glaring is the fact that the intelligence agents and security people investigating Kidman and the plot to kill a genocidal African president in the U.N. are depicted as anything but intelligent. The identity of the perpetrator and the nature of the intended crimes should have been more or less obvious about half-way through the film, and the security team should have had a trap set and armed personnel crawling all over the entire building. It is also unlikely that anybody in Kidman's predicament would have been allowed to continue with unrestricted access to the UN, at virtually any time of day or night, more or less unwatched. And it is even more problematic that somebody with her background should be working at the UN in the first place. The actors' performances and the relationship which develops between the two main characters (which is really at least half the plot) help to gloss over the minor problems and make the film very entertaining and suspenseful. There are also some potentially powerful political messages just below the surface, but I never felt that these messages really emerged, and was left wondering if theyr were simply artistic flourishes or perhaps, posturing.

I heard some good comments about this movie from some colleagues, and I bought the DVD really expecting to see great film. Directed by Sydney Pollack and having Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn and Catherine Keener in the cast, I thought that it would certainly be a great political thriller. Unfortunately I was absolutely wrong.

The confused and flawed screenplay does not develop well the characters, the story is very disappointing and commercial and there are very stupid lines, such as when Silvia asks Keller what he does when he can not sleep, and he answers that he stays awake; or when Dot comes to a stripper in a night-club and asks her to not touch the Prime Minister in a lap dance. What about the secret service leaving the menaced president of a country alone in a room after an attempt against his life? Why would a citizen and her president together alone speak in English instead of in their native dialect or language? The conclusion is simply awful and corny, and the alternative ending with worse than the original one. There is a total lack of chemistry between Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn for the insinuated romance arising between them. Nicole Kidman seems to have fixed the awful plastic surgery of her nose, and is very beautiful again in this flick.

Last but not the least, it is very weird that many favorable reviews are made by users with only one review issued in IMDb, in a type of apparently fake promotion. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Intérprete" ("The Interpreter")