Customer Reviews

The Interpreter (Full Screen Edition)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed every moment of it. Kidman and Penn are great actors. Even though it is related to a fictional country, it is easy to see all the possible African countries.

Sidney Pollack's The interpreter is a well made film.i wasn't expecting
much,so this was a pleasant surprise.the movie stars Nicole Kidman as
U.N interpreter who overhears a murder plot and Sean Penn Plays a
secret service agent assigned to protect her.Normally i don't like
Nicole Kidman,however she showed she has some real range in this
picture.Sean Penn is terrific in an understated performance.the film is
well directed,with plenty of suspense,intense action sequences and some
good plot twists.the dramatic moments are also handled well by
Pollack.Pollack has directed several films in his career,such as
Tootsie,out of Africa and the Firm,as well as Random Hearts and
Sabrina.The people responsible for the writing must also be given
credit as well for a superb effort.Overall, a very well done effective
suspense thriller. 4.5/5

"The interpreter", directed by Sydney Pollack, is a thriller that deals with a plot to kill Zuwanie (Earl Cameron), the dictator of Motobo (a fictional African country) in front of the United Nations' General Assembly. The pace is quick, the general premise interesting, and the actors excellent, but in the end the movie is just good, not great.

The main character is Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman), an interpreter working for the United Nations, who lived a long time in Motobo. One day, Silvia returns to the interpreters' booth in order collect some things she forgot, and by chance hears some conspirators whispering in Ku (the language of Motobo) about a plan to kill Zuwanie. Unfortunately for Silvia, they see her, but she manages to escape. The following day, Silvia goes to the police to tell them what she heard. The problem is, they are not totally sure they believe her. And as events develop, one of the officers in charge of protecting visiting dignitaries, a very troubled Tobin Keller (Sean Penn), begins to suspects that Silvia has more reasons that anyone else to kill Zuwabi. In the end, it is difficult to know who is lying, and why.

The ending is somewhat surprising, but it feels a little contrived. Also, there are hints throughout the movie of an emotional connections of sorts forming between Silvia and Tobin, but nothings gets round to happening, and some spectators will end up saying aloud "Is that all?" at the end of the movie. At least, that is what happened to me.

Notwithstanding that, I would like to point that I specially enjoyed two of the extra features included in the dvd, "The Ultimate Movie Set: The United Nations" and "A Day in the Life of Real Interpreters". My favorite was the first one, in which the director and part of the crew talk about the process of gaining permission to shoot in the building, and what it meant for them to get it, turning "The interpreter" into the first film to be shot inside the United Nations Headquarters. That feature also shows extra shoots of the building, the General Assembly and the room where the public sessions of the Security Council are held (depending on the issue, there are also private meetings not open to the public).

On the whole, and despite the excellent acting, I think that this movie was no more than adequate. Truth to be told, the thing I'll probably remember more about "The interpreter" is its set, that is, the United Nations' building. But... I believe that something is wrong with a film when the most noteworthy feature is the setting.

Belen Alcat

Only liberal Hollywood would cast Sean Penn as - of all things - a Secret Service agent and fulfill his egomaniacal dream of actually standing at the podium of the UN General Assembly. But I'm going to try and rein in my feelings for Sean Penn and the UN here - although it will take a great show of will for me to pull that off. Suffice it to say, I had sworn a solemn oath to never, ever watch a Sean Penn movie - and then Nicole Kidman, one of my personal favorites, goes and makes a movie with the guy. Thus, this was an unusual film for me to sit through - and, as much as I dislike Sean Penn for a myriad of reasons (not just political - the guy did marry Madonna back when I had a teenager's crush on her, after all), he delivers a darn good performance in this movie - he was even better than Nicole. Were it not for the fact that I have an issue with the ending and the matter of a few plot weaknesses along the way, I might have considered giving The Interpreter 5 stars.

It's hard to judge Nicole's performance because I'm not sure if I was supposed to truly like her character. Silvia Broome (and how ironic is it that Nicole plays a witch and a character named Broome in the same year?) is fairly remote, mysterious, and secretive, and I never really warmed up to her. This is the first time I've ever not liked or loved a Nicole Kidman character - I even loved her in To Die For, and she wasn't exactly Miss Sweetness in that one. Here, she plays a UN interpreter who just so happens to overhear a whispered conversation (in a language only she and a handful of other people understand) pointing to an assassination attempt against President Zuwanie of the (nonexistent) African nation of Matoba. After learning the next day that Zuwanie is planning on addressing the General Assembly in a few days, she reports what she has heard. Now a lot of summaries tell you that Tobin Keller (Penn) is assigned to protect Silvia, but this is not accurate (not at first, anyway). Keller's job, as a part of the Secret Service branch overseeing the security of foreign dignitaries, is to protect Zuwanie from the time he enters the US to the time he leaves. He initially thinks Silvia is lying about the purported assassination attempt. It's certainly true that she isn't divulging a heck of a lot of relevant information.

There are a lot of subplots and gradually revealed secrets throughout this film - and the writer and director earn major kudos for making sure all of it makes sense and doesn't cause great confusion. In fact, it's all laid out so well that what might be considered surprises toward the end aren't surprising at all. I wouldn't dream of going into any of the intricate details in my review, though - just know that the story is complex and very well told.

There are some definite Hollywood elements to the story, especially in terms of the ins and outs of the UN. One would hope that UN security is better handled in real life than it is here. Background checks, people. Security sweeps really should involve more than someone walking through a room without actually checking anything. And that safe room - here, it should be called a "well, we might have checked it a week or two ago room." We all know the UN is corrupt, but it can't possibly be this vulnerable to security breaches. And why were there any General Assembly microphones on at all when Silvia went back after hours to retrieve her bag? Of course, all of these things can pretty much be forgiven - this is just a movie, after all. It's amazing to me that the United Nations allowed Sydney Pollack to shoot a number of scenes in actual UN locations, including the General Assembly and Security Council areas. The shooting was done on the weekends, but still - why let a brood of movie crew members traipse all over the place? I wonder if they did background checks on these guys - and whose hands they had to grease to get the OK to film there in the first place.

In closing, I'll just say that The Interpreter surprised me - in a good way. It was a far more intelligent, suspenseful story that I expected, and Sean Penn's presence didn't ruin it at all for me. That's not to say I plan on watching any other Sean Penn movies, though - not unless he costars with Nicole Kidman, Jodie Foster, or Aishwarya Rai.