THE INTERPRETER A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2005 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
Sydney Pollack's THE INTERPRETER is a thriller on valium. It moves so slowly that, if you see it on video, you'll probably leave the room and ask your spouse to call you if anything ever happens. Originally scripted in the 1990s to be about Middle Eastern terrorists, the movie has been thoroughly cleansed by the forces of political correctness so that the killers now are Africans. I don't know about you, but I'm sure we didn't offend Middle Eastern terrorists. Gosh.
The thoroughly confusing plot involves various African factions, one or more of which are involved in an attempt to assassinate an African despot scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Nicole Kidman, in an enigmatic performance, plays Silvia Broome, a U.N. interpreter who thinks she overheard a reference to the upcoming crime. Sean Penn plays Tobin Keller, a Secret Service Agent who just stares a lot since he is depressed over the recent death of his wife. Neither actor breathes any life into a movie in bad need of some energy and a little spontaneity. The movie is as somber as a funeral.
When, just past the midway point, something finally does occur in the story, don't be surprised if you couldn't care less, since the characters are as bewildering as they are unconvincing.
I found myself passing the time in this tedious picture by thinking about how ridiculous and obvious much of the plotting was. Although clearly in danger and even after a bad guy shows up on her windowsill, Silvia never does close the curtains in her apartment. And, if you can't figure out where an assassin will undoubtedly position himself inside the General Assembly room, you clearly must be watching the movie with your eyes shut.
But my favorite way of biding my time, while waiting to see how the story would end, was to watch the long string of continuity errors caused by Kidman's bangs. As she and Penn would sit motionless talking in scene after scene and the camera would cut back and forth between them, her hair would miraculously flip back and forth between completely covering her right eye and being pulled back.
Most of all, with its washed out cinematography and its languid pacing, the film kept feeling like it was some old movie that was never popular in the first place but that some studio exec thought deserved a re-release. Unless you're behind on your sleep, I can see no reason to take in THE INTERPRETER.
THE INTERPRETER runs needlessly long at 2:08. It is rated PG-13 for "violence, some sexual content and brief strong language" and would be acceptable for kids around 12 and up.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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