Movie Review

The Interpreter

Politics is a dangerous game. There's a level beneath the surface of international relations that you don't read about in the daily paper. It is one of grime, of violence, and nightmares coming home to roost. This dark and dreary underbelly is effectively captured in the new movie directed by Sydney Pollack, who is a veteran of films with large issues on their mind.

Nicole Kidman plays the character the movie is named after. After a prologue of which involves the murder of two men by juvenile assassins in Africa, the film cuts to Kidman's Interpreter, who is translating the speeches of diplomats in real time at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. She does her job, making sure world leaders can understand each other, and goes home. But on this particular night, she forgets something back at the "office" (a rather humble term for the seat of world government). She returns to her darkened skybox in the General Assembly room and then hears voices coming from the Assembly floor: It is two men, and they are planning an assassination that will apparently take place right there at the U.N.

Kidman escapes undetected and then proceeds to alert the police, who in turn call in the Secret Service. The lead investigator assigned to the case is played by Sean Penn. He grills Kidman pretty hard during their initial meeting, and confides to his partner that he thinks she's lying. Penn and his team keep close watch on Kidman from there on in, attempting to unravel the soon-to-be murder conspiracy, as well as determining where the interpreter's allegiances lie.

This movie did not need Sean Penn. He is one of the best actors around and gives a convincing performance, but his part is underwritten, lacking the substance of most roles you would expect him to gravitate towards. He plays a standard police/government type, the kind of character you can see on television any night of the week. Apparently Penn didn't want to do the film at first, but Sydney Pollack broke through his defenses and got him to sign on. It's not a complete waste of a skilled performer, but it is borderline. Nicole Kidman also does a credible job in a mostly meatless role. She ultimately must carry the film, and does so through her ethereal presence. The way she looks took my breath away; she appears angelic, blessed with a beauty that is not of this world, and made the movie a whole lot easier to watch for me.

The U.N. comes out smelling like roses in this film, which is quite suspicious considering the well-documented corruption of the organization. The Interpreter repeatedly proclaims how noble the U.N.'s aims are, and how vital the body is to maintaining global stability and promoting world peace. I've heard of nationalist propaganda, but this is one of the first cases of Internationalist propaganda that I've seen in a movie. Sydney Pollack definitely has an agenda, and is surely connected to high-level government sources. There must be a reason why he always plays a big-shot honcho when he acts in films (view Changing Lanes and Eyes Wide Shut to see what I mean); he just gives off that impression of a ruthless, shady businessman type.

Watching The Interpreter, I was reminded of Pollack's mid-1970's film, Three Days of the Condor. That movie had a very similar construction and subject matter. Both films begin with unexpected shooting murders and then delve into political conspiracy plots with a lot of low-key dialogue and a decidedly airless feel in the direction. Neither film is bad, but neither of which is in the top of the heap as far as these types of movies are concerned. They do, however, display an interconnected thematic link in Pollack's work, which is admirable.

The best thing about the Interpreter is it has a dark and gritty feel. But it is not a feel that derives from camera tricks or look-what-I-can-do atmospheric lighting, but from a palpable sense of human corruption. Dread and paranoia ooze from the screen, but it's hard to explain why. Perhaps we see a little too much of the world we live in to be comfortable, and the exploding bus full of innocent people doesn't help either. Watching that scene, in the post-9/11 world, really shook me (and no, I'm not giving anything away since it's shown in the preview).

I can't recommend The Interpreter to everyone, though, as it's somewhat of a mixed bag. The film can be rather dull at times, the script is underwritten considering the talent it has onboard, and the direction could be improved. The more you understand politics, the more you might enjoy this film.

Scott's Grade: B-

A	15.1%
B	59.2%
C	24.5%
D	1.2%
F	0.0%