By Vince Palomarez | Image property of Universal Pictures
Nicole Kidman is The Interpreter
My father, the smart man that he is, once told
me that no matter how much you try to fix up a piece of crap in the end
it's still going to be a piece of crap. I thought he was insane…..until
I saw The Interpreter.
Not that this film is a piece of crap mind you, but with all the A list
talent this film has it couldn't save itself from a bad script and a below
average performance by Sean Penn. Sydney Pollack's (Tootsie, Out
of Africa, The Firm) first film in more than 6 years falls
flat of the expectations mounted on a movie with Nicole Kidman and Sean
Penn as your leads.
The Interpreter-Movie Review
This psychological drama centers on Silvia Broome (Kidman), an interpreter for the United Nations. One night while Sylvia is recovering some items she left in her booth she overhears a murder plot to assassinate a ruler from the same place in Africa she was raised. Tobin Keller (Penn), a secret service agent with major trust issues, is brought in to the investigation and guesses there is more to Silvia's story then she puts on.
What sounds like an interesting idea never seems to deliver due to a very
sluggish pace. The Interpreter never seemed to get off the ground
until late in the second half and when it did my attention span was gone.
The assassination storyline tries to be smart but just drags on throughout
the movie and when the predictable big twit is revealed you'll be scratching
your head thinking, "that's it?"
The Interpreter leaves one asking 'that's it?'
The acting in The Interpret is no better.
While Nicole Kidman puts in another great performance Sean Penn looks as
if he is sleepwalking through this film. Maybe he was doing this for the
money, maybe he was doing a favor for his friend Sydney Pollack, but from
the start of this film he looks as if his heart is not in it. Playing the
generic role of "good cop with a tortured soul" role will do it to you,
but his "Oscar moment" just seemed very robotic and unemotional. While there
are some great supporting performances by Catherine Keener as his partner
and even a guest spot from Pollack himself they just can't make up for a
bad lead performance.
Final Judgment: With all this star power and an interesting idea I was
expecting a lot more. On the surface, The Interpreter had all
the makings of being a very interesting film. Don't let the star power
fool you; take away all the big names and in the end you'll see it for
the clunker it truly is.
Score:
Nicole Kidman is The Interpreter
The Interpreter leaves one asking 'that's it?'
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