The Interpreter

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.

Nice suspense thriller with mystery , plot twists and an international conspiracy that unfold inside the United Nations . There an interpreter , Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) , overhears an assassination plot , as she has overheard a death threat against an African head of state and then a hard-boiled U. S. Secret Service agent named Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) along with his helper (Catherine Keener) are assigned to investigate the case . Silvia was raised in the Republic of Matobo, a fictional African country, but she has dual citizenship. Meanwhile , the U. N. is considering indicting Edmond Zuwanie (Earl Cameron) , Matobo's president , to stand trial in the International Criminal Court . Initially a liberator , over the past 20 years he has become as tyrannical and corrupt as the government he overthrew , and is now responsible for ethnic cleansing within Matobo . Zuwanie is soon to visit the U. N. and put forward his own case to the General Assembly , in an attempt to avoid the indictment . Then scalating events , happenings grow more nightmarish, and things go awry . We're all being watched ! . The truth needs no translation !.

This exciting suspense flick contains thrills , political intrigue , deception , noisy action , shootouts , twists , turns and is quite entertaining . A commercial thriller that failed at the boxoffice , here Sidney Pollack to indulge in the internal machinery of the UN building which allowed in the movie cameras for the first time and some breathtaking helicopter shots of NYC . The African leaders : Matbo , Ku , Kuman-Kuman are all fictional , of course , but we must asume that Motobo is a post-revolutionary sub-Saharan state and along the lines can be Zimbabwe and the president Zuwanie is a thinly veiled portrait of Robert Mugave figure . This is a competent thriller , but observing global politics from this perspective turning out to be an uncomfortable , frustating experience , but the movie still lends nothing to our understanding of post-colonial Africa , including ethnic cleansing , corruption as well as other atrocities and disasters . Main actors give passable acting , as Nicole Kidman as an interpreter working at the United Nations in New York City whose life is turned upside down as she becomes a hunted target of the killers and Sean Penn as the stubborn agent assigned to the twisted case that takes under the protection the threatened victim ; nevertheless , there isn't chemistry enough among them. They are well accompanied by a good support cast , such as : Catherine Keener , Jesper Christensen , Yvan Attal , Earl Cameron , George Harris , Michael Wright , Clyde Kusatsu , Hugo Speer , Robert Clohessy , David Zayas and Sidney Pollack himself .

It displays a colorful and brilliant cinematography from Darius Khondji, shot on location in UN , NYC . As well as rousing and moving musical score by James Newton Howard . The motion picture was well financed by producers Tim Bevan , Eric Fellner , Anthony Minghella and professionally produced/written/played/directed by Sidney Pollack , though it has some disappointing scenes , flaws and gaps . This good professional was an excellent actor and director , making the following important movies : "The Property is condemned" , "The Slender Thread" , "The Scalphunters" , "They Shoot Horses , Don't They ?" , "Jeremiah Johnson" , "The Way we Were" , "Yazuka" , "3 days of Condor" , "Absence of Malice" , "Tootsie" , "Out of Africa" , "Havana" , "The Firm", "Sabrina" , "Random Hearts", among others . Rating : 6/10. The picture will appeal to thriller fans , but especiallly appointed to Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn fans . In spite of its several shortcomings , flops and failures , the picture is well worth watching .

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.

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.

I heard some good comments about this movie from some colleagues, and I bought the DVD really expecting to see great film. Directed by Sydney Pollack and having Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn and Catherine Keener in the cast, I thought that it would certainly be a great political thriller. Unfortunately I was absolutely wrong.

The confused and flawed screenplay does not develop well the characters, the story is very disappointing and commercial and there are very stupid lines, such as when Silvia asks Keller what he does when he can not sleep, and he answers that he stays awake; or when Dot comes to a stripper in a night-club and asks her to not touch the Prime Minister in a lap dance. What about the secret service leaving the menaced president of a country alone in a room after an attempt against his life? Why would a citizen and her president together alone speak in English instead of in their native dialect or language? The conclusion is simply awful and corny, and the alternative ending with worse than the original one. There is a total lack of chemistry between Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn for the insinuated romance arising between them. Nicole Kidman seems to have fixed the awful plastic surgery of her nose, and is very beautiful again in this flick.

Last but not the least, it is very weird that many favorable reviews are made by users with only one review issued in IMDb, in a type of apparently fake promotion. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Intérprete" ("The Interpreter")