     HOME
     INFO
     REVIEWS
     MAP
     OPEN FORUM
     PHOTO ALBUM

"Interpreter"

Chris' Review:

The Interpreter never really got off the ground for me.

Take this into account:

Interpreter was the first movie to ever be allowed to film inside the United Nations building. You get this intense sense of realism from the setting. It's kind of like when Drew Barrymore runs onto the field at Fenway Park in Fever Pitch. Suddenly, the movie just feels that much more real, almost like a documentary.

Then you have some stellar talent leading the way, Nicole Kidman as Silvia Broome and Sean Penn as Agent Keller. Both of them bring an amazing depth to their characters. Each layer that is stripped away during the movie reveals yet another layer. Even Nicole Kidman's fictional African accent seems spot on for coming from a language that never existed.

Then you have the realism of precious few action sequences, current political issues, even picking out some of our current fears about the world we live in. It's intelligently written, well filmed, sharp and intriguing.

Sometimes, you can do everything right and you still end up with a dud.

I can't really put my finger on what went wrong here. Maybe it was too much realism and not enough drama. Maybe I found the motivations of the characters to be a little bit cliche. Maybe it built it's foundation too much in the world of politics, which has forever annoyed me. Whatever it was, I just couldn't wait for the movie to be over. I kept thinking of a hundred other things that I would rather be doing.

Maybe it was the feeling that I wasn't being entertained because the movie was trying so hard for avreal world feeling, and the real world isn't always entertaining; and I wasn't being educated because, although the movie wanted realism, it was trying to avoid naming names, using fictional countries and dictators. So my brain wasn't busy learning, and it wasn't numbed from entertainment, I sort of drifted off.

In the end, Interpreter just tries so hard and uses all the right formulas, but falls just short of being something of substance. I give it 1 thumb up. Just slightly above average for the use of the United Nations as a film set.

Jim's Review:

Jim's review should be along shortly.

******************************************

Back

Home - Info - Reviews - Map - Message Board - Photo Album

IMDB.com
answer all your movie questions!

RottenTomatoes.com
Get more reviews here!

Hollywood.com
Find showtimes at your local theatre, order tickets online!