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The Interpreter
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PLOT
Nicole Kidman is an interpreter for the U.N. who has the misfortune of
overhearing an assassination plot. She doesn't see the conspirators,
but they presumably see her. Her life now in danger, she is placed
under the protection of an FBI Agent (Penn) who starts to have
suspicions about Nicole and her story. A lot of weird African names
(and political intrigue!) ensue.
JOHNNY'S TAKE
Despite the fact that at times it looks like Nicole Kidman and Sean
Penn are auditioning for Oscar nominations, as they exchange long,
drawn-out speeches, The Interpreter kept me guessing throughout its
entire runtime. But there will be times when you'll need to resist the
temptation to yell out, "Yeah, yeah, you both already have Oscars so
please just MOVE IT ALONG!" Pretty much whenever you see one of these
leads start to squeeze out a tear you know it's time to fluff your
pillow and wait it out.
During one speech in which Nicole's character starts slobbering about
how much she loves working for the U.N. and how she thinks the U.N. is
the answer to all of life's woes, I started to hear a rumble. At first
I thought I was being treated to some mighty fine THX and Dolby Digital
sound action, but it turned out to be a rumbling in my stomach. If
Nicole had carried on for much longer then I would've had to pull out
my yellow bucket I carry around for such occasions. Quit the preaching,
honey, and let's get to the meat of the story! No one cares that you
think the U.N. is a pillowy soft, beautifully scented bed of flowers.
Thankfully, it never took too terribly long for the intrigue to start
back up. What keeps the interest level high is that nothing is as
straight-forward as you may think. Nicole is an interpreter who has the
misfortune of being one of about three people in the world who can
speak some weird Jimbobwe (or something) language. So when she
overhears someone use this language to discuss the assassination of
President Zuwanie of the fictional country of Matobo, you know it's on.
So sweet little Nicole is in danger and must be protected at all costs,
right? Weeeeeell, there may be a slight hitch in that plan. You see,
the Secret Service is not only in charge of protecting her, but they're
also in charge of investigating her. Sean Penn thinks she may be making
up the entire story. Or perhaps she isn't revealing the complete story.
Whatever the case, he doesn't completely trust her. And why should he?
Her judgment has been suspect ever since she took a starring role in
The Stepford Wives.
As he looks deeper into her background, he starts to realize that his
suspicions just might be legit. Does Nicole have a reason for wanting
Zuwanie dead? The white-haired dictator started out as a freedom
fighter, but now he's mainly known for the genocide of his own people.
Does she merely dislike people with names that sound like a weird
African cuisine, or is she genuinely interested in helping foil the
assassination plans? You'll have to watch the movie to get the answers
to all these questions because I won't be answering them in this
spoiler-free review.
This isn't the hippest or coolest thriller around, but it does manage
to maintain a level of intelligence that is higher than the average
within the genre. The plot twists are never mind-blowing, but they're
used effectively enough to not feel like mere gimmicks. The pace is a
little slow at times, but the movie never completely loses its grip on
the audience. I particularly recommend the "bomb on a bus" scene, and
the last 15 or 20 minutes really kick everything into overdrive. I was
hoping the climax would be a little more extreme than it was, but I'm
not really surprised. Too many people are content to play it safe these
days. Ah well.
A word of warning: these last few minutes are when you'll want to pay
the most attention. The pace quickens, the FBI Agents start to freak
out, and when they freak out they talk really fast. At this point weird
African names start getting thrown around faster than an Ike Turner
wife. It's very easy to get confused about who is being talked about
and what exactly they're doing. If your attention span is smaller than
your shoe size then you could be in trouble.
If you like a solid political thriller that is more than happy to take
over two hours to get where it's going, and loves to brag about
showcasing two Oscar winners, then I recommend The Interpreter. I'd
also like to recommend that the U.N. institute deeper background checks
on its employees. Man, I hope they're a little more thorough in real
life! You'll see what I mean.
FACT OF THE DAY
The first film ever allowed to be shot inside the U.N. Headquarters.
Filming was done on the weekends so as not to be a distraction. The
media likes to treat this as if it's tantamount to the Second Coming.
THE GIST
The Interpreter is a solid, entertaining thriller that is most
effective when it's concentrating on building tension, and less
enthralling when it tries to step up to the pulpit.
Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)
Johnny Betts
The Movie Mark
http://www.themoviemark.com
========== X-RAMR-ID: 39677 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 1382824 X-RT-TitleID: 1144732 X-RT-SourceID: 1604 X-RT-AuthorID: 10939 X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/5
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