The Interpreter

Entry to the United Nations headquarters in New York (and being directed by Sydney Pollack) was enough to make Nicole Kidman sign up for this enjoyable, if not a little formulaic, political thriller. Hollywood's golden girl teams up with man of the moment Sean Penn in this well-paced and intense tale which unfolds against a backdrop of international terror and unashamedly draws parallels with the current political situation in Zimbabwe. Kidman adopts a satisfactory South African accent for the role of Silvia Broome, a UN interpreter who overhears a plot to assassinate a controversial African leader during his visit to the United States. Penn is Tobin Keller, a Secret Service agent assigned to investigate Silvia's claims and protect her from the assassins. But is Silvia telling the truth? Silvia's life is turned upside down as she becomes a target for the killers but a suspicious Kellar digs deeper into her past in a bid to find out what she is hiding. Pollack (who has a small part in the movie) scored a massive coup when he convinced Kofi Annan to allow filming inside the UN building for the first time. Even Alfred Hitchcock had to improvise when making the classic Cary Grant North By North West. The movie has some very strong opening scenes, shot on location in South Africa, and instantly grabs our attention. When the action moves to New York, Pollack (who brought us Tootsie, Out Of Africa and The Firm) creates an old-whorled vibe with grainy shots more reminiscent of the 70s, deliberately avoiding the neon lights of the Big Apple to create a dulled-down mood that sits much better with the film's content. Kidman and Penn handle their material well, putting in solid performances and the pair square up nicely on screen. Predictably, and annoyingly so, however, a chemistry develops between the two making for some scenes which would have been better left on the cutting room floor. Let's face it, the old adage of two strangers being brought together by circumstance and suddenly being able to open up and shed their baggage has all been done before. The moral of the story is also a little bit too Hollywood. We can admire its good intentions and even buy into the idea that we can change the world with words and diplomacy but it all becomes a bit nonsensical. But it is the movies after all and it's difficult to find fault with Pollack who has opted for a dialect-driven film as opposed to high-octane action scenes - although they do make a welcome appearance as the film reaches its climax. This is the thinking person's thriller and it's definitely worth a viewing.

One of Nicole Kidman's Finest Performances. Sean Penn's performance starts off flat with his character grumpy and unappealing, but as film progresses, one learns this was an appropriate approach based on the character's history.

This was a complicated story to bring to film, and Pollack did an adequate job in that regard, but too often the pacing is just a bit too slow and uneven.

Where Sidney shines is in bringing out the best in actors, and for me, this was one of Kidman's best performances in film, making it worth the view alone.

One must hunker down in this film as it is atypically a slow paced and subtle thriller. Some scenes don't connect with what would likely be realistic outcomes of circumstances, so the film loses 2 points for those moments, and another point for some hodgepodge editing.

Well done plot twists, a few moving moments, and Kidman's performance maintain the film's 7 Rating and a 👍 recommendation to view.

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.

Director Sidney Pollack has given us some very fine films in the past; THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR and TOOTSIE come immediately to mind, and he won an Oscar for OUT OF Africa (although it's not high on my personal list of his films). But not even Mr. Pollack can make a great film without having a script to start with. I think that's the lesson of THE INTERPRETER. There are many things that are just not well thought out here, and the whole suffers as a result.

Penn is great as always, Kidman does a lot with her character, but often they're wandering through the scenes in a story that doesn't seem to know where to go next. Actually the fact the movie makes any sense at all is a credit to Pollack's experience and talent. There are some great ideas here, and there's certainly a level of entertainment achieved; even some thought provoking moments. But it's clear the filmmakers weren't working from a well prepared script. 6 out of 10.

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.