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Movie Review - The Interpreter (2005)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Sydney Pollack |
| Starring: |
Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, and Catherine Keener |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for violence, some sexual content and brief strong language) |
| Length: |
128 minutes |
| Genre: |
Drama/Thriller |
| Tagline: |
The truth needs no translation. |
| Studio: |
Universal |
| Website: |
The Interpreter |
| Release: |
April 22, 2005 |
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PLOT
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Nicole Kidman is an interpreter for the U.N. who has the misfortune of overhearing an assassination plot.
She doesn't see the conspirators, but they presumably see her. Her life now in danger, she is placed under
the protection of an FBI Agent (Penn) who starts to have suspicions about Nicole and her story. A lot of
weird African names (and political intrigue!) ensue.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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Despite the fact that at times it looks like Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn are auditioning for Oscar nominations,
as they exchange long, drawn-out speeches, The Interpreter kept me guessing throughout its entire runtime.
But there will be times when you'll need to resist the temptation to yell out, "Yeah, yeah, you both already have
Oscars so please just MOVE IT ALONG!" Pretty much whenever you see one of these leads start to squeeze out a
tear you know it's time to fluff your pillow and wait it out.
During one speech in which Nicole's character starts slobbering about how much she loves working for the U.N. and
how she thinks the U.N. is the answer to all of life's woes, I started to hear a rumble. At first I thought I
was being treated to some mighty fine THX and Dolby Digital sound action, but it turned out to be a rumbling in
my stomach. If Nicole had carried on for much longer then I would've had to pull out my yellow bucket I carry
around for such occasions. Quit the preaching, honey, and let's get to the meat of the story! No one cares
that you think the U.N. is a pillowy soft, beautifully scented bed of flowers.
Thankfully, it never took too terribly long for the intrigue to start back up. What keeps the interest level
high is that nothing is as straight-forward as you may think. Nicole is an interpreter who has the misfortune
of being one of about three people in the world who can speak some weird Jimbobwe (or something) language. So
when she overhears someone use this language to discuss the assassination of President Zuwanie of the fictional
country of Matobo, you know it's on.
So sweet little Nicole is in danger and must be protected at all costs, right? Weeeeeell, there may be
a slight hitch in that plan. You see, the Secret Service is not only in charge of protecting her, but
they're also in charge of investigating her. Sean Penn thinks she may be making up the entire story. Or
perhaps she isn't revealing the complete story. Whatever the case, he doesn't completely trust her. And
why should he? Her judgment has been suspect ever since she took a starring role in
The Stepford Wives.
As he looks deeper into her background, he starts to realize that his suspicions just might be
legit. Does Nicole have a reason for wanting Zuwanie dead? The white-haired dictator started
out as a freedom fighter, but now he's mainly known for the genocide of his own people. Does she
merely dislike people with names that sound like a weird African cuisine, or is she genuinely interested
in helping foil the assassination plans? You'll have to watch the movie to get the answers to all these
questions because I won't be answering them in this spoiler-free review.
This isn't the hippest or coolest thriller around, but it does manage to maintain a level of intelligence that
is higher than the average within the genre. The plot twists are never mind-blowing, but they're used effectively
enough to not feel like mere gimmicks. The pace is a little slow at times, but the movie never completely loses
its grip on the audience. I particularly recommend the "bomb on a bus" scene, and the last 15 or 20 minutes really
kick everything into overdrive. I was hoping the climax would be a little more extreme than it was, but I'm not really
surprised. Too many people are content to play it safe these days. Ah well.
A word of warning: these last few minutes are when you'll want to pay the most attention. The pace quickens, the
FBI Agents start to freak out, and when they freak out they talk really fast. At this point weird African names
start getting thrown around faster than an Ike Turner wife. It's very easy to get confused about who is being
talked about and what exactly they're doing. If your attention span is smaller than your shoe size then you could
be in trouble.
If you like a solid political thriller that is more than happy to take over two hours to get where it's going, and
loves to brag about showcasing two Oscar winners, then I recommend The Interpreter. I'd also like to
recommend that the U.N. institute deeper background checks on its employees. Man, I hope they're a little more
thorough in real life! You'll see what I mean.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Budget: $80,000,000
- The first film ever allowed to be shot inside the U.N. Headquarters. Filming was done on the weekends
so as not to be a distraction. The media likes to treat this as if it's tantamount to the Second Coming.
- Nicole Kidman supposedly signed on to the movie without even reading the script. If that's a habit of
hers, then that might explain why she agreed to star in The Stepford
Wives. Methinks she should be a little more careful.
- An actual conversation between Stephanie and me during the movie:
*Sydney Pollack appears on screen*
Steph: Does he have to be in every movie he directs?
Johnny: I thought Sydney Pollack was black.
Steph: That's Sydney Poitier.
Johnny: Oh yeah.
- Sean Penn continues to morph into Robert De Niro more and more every movie.
- Sean Penn was in The Thin Red Line with Travis Fine who was in The Young Riders with
Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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There's not too much for mama to object to. The profanity is pretty light, with 1 or 2 G-d**n's being the
most extreme. There are some violent scenes (people being gunned down, a huge explosion) that parents might
not want their young children seeing.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer does a good job of setting up the movie, but in my opinion it gives away too much information.
The less you know going into the movie, the more you'll enjoy it.
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THE GIST
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The Interpreter is a solid, entertaining thriller that is most effective when it's concentrating on
building tension, and less enthralling when it tries to step up to the pulpit.
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