DVD Movie Night: "The Interpreter"

We had high hopes for "The Interpreter." We had briefly even considered plopping down $10.50 at the local cineplex to see the flick when it came out in theaters last year. We're glad we waited for the DVD instead. "The Interpreter" is a political suspense-mystery about an interpreter at the United Nations who overhears a conversation regarding a plot to assassinate an African dictator during his upcoming speech to the General Assembly. The movie is a well-intentioned and well-made, but it is also a way too self-important and ultimately flawed film. Its stars -- Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn -- are actors we usually love to watch on screen. But in spite of strong, solid performances in "The Interpreter," both Penn and Kidman's acting seems to fall short at times due to weaknesses either in the script, story, direction or editing. Kidman, as usual, is a beauty on the screen even when she's wearing reading glasses and has blood splattered on her delicate features, as is the case following a scene in which a bus is bombed seconds after she's alighted from the vehicle. The audience is supposed to sympathize with her, but her character is so maddening and takes herself so seriously in an annoying, self-absorbed way that it's difficult to care about her character or her politcal cause. Then there are the plot holes, the melodramatic tropes and the familiar absurdities in the way New York-living is depicted. (In the movie, Kidman lives on East 10th Street in the East Village and drives around town on a moped, which she keeps parked and chained on the sidewalk in front of her brownstone apartment. Uh, that moped would have been stolen, vandalized or stripped within days on the street. And who needs to ride around the Village on a Vespa when almost everything you could need is a few blocks away, including the subway?)

Air Massive rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

Posted by Robsam at May 2, 2006 11:59 PM