The Interpreter leaves too much unspoken
The Interpreter, directed by Sydney Pollack, and starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, is a solid thriller with uneven performances.
Nicole Kidman is intriguing in the starring role, as an interpreter at the United Nations who claims to have overheard an assassination plot against a visiting South African dignitary. Sean Penn plays the federal agent assigned to either (a) keep her alive, or (b) ascertain if she is telling the truth. For Kidman’s character is also South African and may possibly have a motive for setting these events in motion or is she just an innocent, and coincidental, pawn?
Pollack, once again, makes a Hitchcock-homage appearance in a movie he directs, playing a minor character, while Penn tries, somewhat woodenly, to add some torment to his role as an agent plagued by his own self-doubts in the face of a recent personal tragedy. His recent loss should have made him connect more to Kidman’s character, but I wasn’t buying it. Too much was left unsaid between these two characters. The chemistry, the fragile trust, was almost there, but to me Penn’s performance was more of a near miss.
Two stars out of four. Solid entertainment with a few, intriguing plot twists. Rated PG-13 for stark and brutal violence, some sexual content and brief strong language.
