The Interpreter 2005
Political thrillers just aren’t the same since the Cold War. Without an evil empire to fight against, I suppose now we are left to fight against corrupt dictators from countries we’ve never heard of. Thus the setup for this movie is that Nicole Kidman gets involved in a plot to assassinate an African leader at the UN when she overhears a conversation in a language for which she is the UN’s only translator. Sean Penn plays a police officer working to protect dignitaries and, rather than being assigned to protect the witness, investigates so that he can protect the subject of the assassination. You never feel like the world is on the brink of disaster here, though for people in that country there could be real consequences.
Given the lukewarm setup, the movie itself is very well-made and rolls a number of different wrinkles and backstory into the plot that keep it interesting throughout. Kidman and Penn are both very good, as you would expect. Kidman can be terrified one moment and calm, cool, and collected the next without it seeming to be a contradiction. Likewise Penn can be distant and caring at the same time. These are both good characters.
This is a movie that is definitely worth watching and will probably be one of my favorites of the year, but it still misses getting an A because it just didn’t get me involved in the cause. I miss the Soviets. I’ll give it a B+.
Owned on: Digital