Nicole Kidman is Sylvia Broome, A U.N. interpreter who gets caught up in an assassination attempt on an African head of state when she overhears a plot against him. Realizing the danger she may be in, she tries to go to the embassy to protect her, but only federal agent Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) is convinced by her story to protect her and help her solve the mystery behind the death threats.
For the most part, The Interpreter is a harmless thriller with some solid acting and nice twists. It offers an intriguing ride with a satisfying conclusion, if a little disappointing. However, the script as a whole is not very good. It's full of plot holes that are too big to ignore. Along with the annoying flaws, the film contains some pointless scenes that drag the movie's nice pace down. The 128 minute running time feels a lot longer since the first 45 minutes move really slowly. After that mark, the movie picks up and it becomes more exciting and suspenseful. The trailer takes away some of the suspense though. It reveals too much information and this obviously hurts the movie.
The acting is pretty strong with Nicole Kidman giving the best performance out of everyone. Her frozen forehead is a little distracting but her performance is still pretty good. Sean Penn also gives a good performance but I was expecting more from him. Don't get me wrong, his performance is still above average, it just wasn't as strong as I was expecting it to be. Catherine Keener also gives a nice performance but the film is really all about Kidman and Penn. They have nice chemistry together and they manage to deliver some engaging scenes.
Sydney Pollack does a nice job behind the camera and he keeps the audience guessing until the very end. He moves the film at a decent pace and the movie is pretty stylish. He also makes the audience think and this is pretty rare for a Hollywood film. Another thing he does is keep the film harmless. The film makes up its own language and country which is an interesting way of doing things. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if they had used a real country but I'm satisfied with this approach. In the end, The Interpreter may not have lived up to original expectations but it's still a nice thriller that's worth checking out. Rating 7.4/10
For the most part, The Interpreter is a harmless thriller with some solid acting and nice twists. It offers an intriguing ride with a satisfying conclusion, if a little disappointing. However, the script as a whole is not very good. It's full of plot holes that are too big to ignore. Along with the annoying flaws, the film contains some pointless scenes that drag the movie's nice pace down. The 128 minute running time feels a lot longer since the first 45 minutes move really slowly. After that mark, the movie picks up and it becomes more exciting and suspenseful. The trailer takes away some of the suspense though. It reveals too much information and this obviously hurts the movie.
The acting is pretty strong with Nicole Kidman giving the best performance out of everyone. Her frozen forehead is a little distracting but her performance is still pretty good. Sean Penn also gives a good performance but I was expecting more from him. Don't get me wrong, his performance is still above average, it just wasn't as strong as I was expecting it to be. Catherine Keener also gives a nice performance but the film is really all about Kidman and Penn. They have nice chemistry together and they manage to deliver some engaging scenes.
Sydney Pollack does a nice job behind the camera and he keeps the audience guessing until the very end. He moves the film at a decent pace and the movie is pretty stylish. He also makes the audience think and this is pretty rare for a Hollywood film. Another thing he does is keep the film harmless. The film makes up its own language and country which is an interesting way of doing things. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if they had used a real country but I'm satisfied with this approach. In the end, The Interpreter may not have lived up to original expectations but it's still a nice thriller that's worth checking out. Rating 7.4/10