Thriller set at U.N. stumbles
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, April 21, 2005
When Alfred Hitchcock made “North by Northwest” in 1959, he had to secretly grab a shot of Cary Grant walking into the United Nations building. Why? Because the United Nations never allowed anybody to film at the institution itself.
Things have changed for the United Nations, and perhaps it was with an eye toward shoring up public relations that they let “The Interpreter” shoot inside the august body. The prestige production, directed by picky Sydney Pollack, uses the U.N. building to striking effect.
The movie itself, though, earns no diplomatic immunity. By turns intelligent and ham-handed, the film stumbles in its jerry-built story and awkward movie-star pairing.
The stars in question are Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn. She plays a U.N. interpreter, African-born and a specialist in the (invented) language of Ku. Alone in her office (which hangs over the General Assembly room, sort of like a luxury box at a sports arena), she accidentally overhears a death threat uttered in Ku – a threat that could be interpreted (so to speak) as a plot to kill a soon-to-be-visiting African despot.
Penn is a Secret Service agent assigned to investigate the interpreter’s claim. He’s skeptical, because she happens to be from the African despot’s country (the mythical region of Matobo). Although she declares her politics to be “peace and quiet,” he thinks she’s involved somehow.
Penn’s character is burdened with a huge personal loss to start the movie, which feels suspiciously like a screenwriter’s device to give him more angst. Like Sean Penn needs more angst?
There are three writers credited on this film, which might account for its up-and-down quality. Two of them are A-listers, Steven Zaillian and Scott Frank, which in turn could account for why certain scenes – the first edgy meeting between Penn and Kidman, for instance – are smart and well-written. Much of what works in this movie is people sitting around talking.
Give Pollack credit for one blockbuster sequence, right in the middle of the picture, as three distinct plot strands all come together on a New York city bus. It’s a dizzying job of orchestrating suspense.
But Pollack, whose films in this vein include “Three Days of the Condor” and “The Firm,” is not always so certain. For instance, the bus sequence is followed by a hideously staged argument between Penn and Kidman that rings completely false.
I never believed either actor in their roles. Catherine Keener, as Penn’s partner, is supposed to supply tame cop comedy; the one memorable performer in the film is Earl Cameron, who is absolutely eerie as the dictator of Matobo.
If you’re wondering whether the U.N. connection and the presence of Bagdad sightseer Sean Penn indicate a movie of liberal leanings, don’t bother speed-dialing Rush Limbaugh. “The Interpreter” is so apolitical as to be utterly toothless. It makes zero mention of the United Nation’s ineffectual track record in recent global affairs, and the use of a mythical African nation keeps everything safe and timid.
You wonder whether anything was toned down in order to get access to the building (Pollack says not). Alfred Hitchcock may have lucked out.
Sean Penn (below) and Nicole Kidman star in “The Interpreter.”
“The Interpreter” HH
So-so: A United Nations interpreter (Nicole Kidman) overhears a threat against a visiting African dictator; secret service man Sean Penn wonders if she is telling the truth. Sporadically intelligent writing and one great suspense sequence make this a so-so time-killer.
Rated: PG-13 rating is for violence, language.
Now showing: tk
“The Interpreter” HH
So-so: A United Nations interpreter (Nicole Kidman) overhears a threat against a visiting African dictator; secret service man Sean Penn wonders if she is telling the truth. Sporadically intelligent writing and one great suspense sequence make this a so-so time-killer.
Rated: PG-13 for violence, language.
Now showing: Everett 9, Galaxy, Loews, Marysville, Mountlake, Stanwood, Metro, Oak Tree, Pacific Place, Woodinville, Cascade, Oak Harbor.
Robert Horton
