The Interpreter (2005) Reviews

• A Very Safe Movie

  daveisit2005-05-02

  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.

  More

• Ridiculous Ending Spoils Good Movie

  ccthemovieman-12006-01-22

  Seldom has an ending been so disappointing and ruined a good film as this one. For most of the way, this was a slick thriller, nicely photographed and nicely acted. Sean Penn is outstanding in here. I like to see him play low-key characters instead of hot-headed sleazeballs. Nicole Kidman also gives a good performance. Sometimes her classic beauty hides the fact she can act. The story was pretty involving, hard to put down once you've started. My only complaint up to the ending was the obvious plug for the United Nations. This looked a public relations piece for that organization. However, then came that ending - a real insult to anyone's intelligence. In a nutshell, nobody would go the extremes they went to here to protect a visiting dignitary, using all that manpower and machinery....and then leave him all alone in a room at the end! Are you serious??? It was unbelievably stupid and ruined what had been an entertaining and somewhat- smart film.

  More

• a thought or two on The Interpreter

  oddvincent2007-01-22

  Last night, I watched The Interpreter, primarily because I wanted to see if Sydney Pollack still had it and in my humble opinion, he does. I don't see too much film-making like this these days. For one thing, it's slow, but in a good way. Too many suspense films speed by at such an absurd rate that there's never any time for a mood to be built or characters to be known. Here, we get to know the characters intimately and are gradually drawn into the complex and compelling and relevant plot. Speaking of relevance, there is, here, a "message", but it's delivered organically by way of carefully structured storytelling and character development, not with a bullhorn and fireworks. Speaking of characters, I love the understated performances in this film by Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman. I love also the moments in this film, such as when Penn's character in a country-western bar unplugs the jukebox to stop the noise of some country-pop crap then restarts it in order to play Lyle Lovett's wonderful "If I Had a Boat" then goes to a pay phone and calls his own house just to hear his wife's voice on the answering machine. Also, while I have nothing against fast, action-adventure-cartoon-type violence when it's done just right. The violence in this film isn't exciting. It's just as it should be considering the subject matter. It's sad and desolate and when a man speaks his last words to the child-soldier who has just shot him and when a bus is bombed or a desperate man is betrayed and murdered you feel it, the final moments of human lives; a being being taken away. There's room for sentiment in such films and it doesn't have to be sap as it so often is. I don't follow entertainment news much these days (much as I'd love to) because such stories and reviews and even trailers (which I also used to love watching) give away far too much of the story (which I'm trying here not to do) so I don't know how this film was received, but I hope it did well and if it didn't, I hope audiences come to discover and love it gradually so that there might be more films like it.

  More

• What a disappointment!

  zhenca2005-04-24

  With all my respect and admiration for the creators of the movie as well as my concern for the topics of political corruption and ethnic conflicts it raises, I must admit ruefully that even the brilliance of Sean Penn's acting (perfect as he always is) couldn't save "The Interpreter" from going flop in every respect. First comes the poorly written script with artificially forced scenes that totally undermine the credibility of whatever's happening on screen. How on earth could you imagine an opposition leader of an African country, no matter how small, taking a ride on a street-bus and, what is even more bewildering, discussing political dealings and murders in a pure English with his accuser Nicole Kidman, all this with plenty of, one can assume, English-speaking people around them. Another gem of incongruity in the film is leaving the president of a country all by himself right after an assassination attempt and despite all the efforts to protect him from being killed. These are just a few among the abundance of inconsistencies and strained situations in the script. The directing adds neither credibility nor suspense at all. It is pretty easy to guess the intentions and further actions of the characters because you have seen all these hackneyed plot twists so many times before. No originality, ingenuity, or finesse one would expect from the creator of "Three days of the Condor" comes out in a below the average handling of the plot development. This all leaves Kidman's attempts at being believable all but successful and, especially so, in the culminating scene. Where it is supposed to be great emotional acme nothing is felt but an insipid taste of "you've guessed it all" disillusion. What could have become a clever, topical political thriller turned out to be an average Hollywood flick with no power to awake people's hearts and minds or change attitudes to ethnic cleansing and wars in the real world.

  More

• Script Needs Work

  director_mitch2005-04-24

  I was interested in seeing The Interpreter since it looked like a good adult drama. Unfortunately, the movie has some problems. The big plus of the movie is Kidman. She is one of those women who actually looks better as she ages, and she is a talented actress. Sean Penn is also a good actor, and both do a great job in the movie. Unfortunately the good acting can't overcome the weak script. I felt like the story was still a 2-3 drafts short of being ready for the screen. The biggest problem was that there are plot holes you could drive a truck through. I also felt the movie dragged through most of the middle as they tried to develop the strained relationship between the principle characters. If you are a plot-driven movie fan, as I am, the movie is likely to be a disappointment. If you are a acting-driven movie fan, you will probably like the movie more.

  More