One of the weird things about doing my job is that I sometimes interview well-known people, usually filmmakers but sometimes bona fide movie stars.
So it was easy to identify with the central situation in “Interview,” where a scruffy writer, played by Steve Buscemi, finds himself in an uncomfortable position while interviewing a hot young starlet, played by Sienna Miller.
On the other hand, after a certain point, the movie lost me. The awkwardness and clumsy questioning rang true. But since no starlet has ever taunted me to kiss her or revealed her soul in a boozy diatribe, I felt the movie broke the bounds of credibility. Yes, I am being tongue in cheek.
“Interview” is scripted and directed by Buscemi, based on a Dutch film by director Theo van Gogh. Van Gogh, an outspoken, inflammatory figure in Holland, was murdered on the street by an Islamic radical in 2004.
The remake of “Interview” is some kind of tribute to van Gogh, although from this film it’s hard to tell why he was important. It’s basically a two-person movie set almost entirely within a roomy Manhattan loft.
Buscemi plays Pierre, a magazine writer who’s really a political reporter. He couldn’t care less about doing this stupid celebrity profile, and it shows in his approach: He hasn’t watched any of his subject’s movies, or researched her at all.
For her part, movie star Katya doesn’t help by showing up an hour late. Their interview goes phffft after five minutes, but when Pierre hurts his head, Katya invites him up to her nearby apartment for some first aid.
What follows is a frequently vitriolic war of words, in which you get the sense that both people are saying much more about themselves than about the other person. Of course, that’s what most arguments are really about.
The movie is lively for a while, but its narrative twists are never as interesting as the film seems to think they should be. And I just couldn’t believe some of the behavior by the characters.
Mostly, “Interview” works as an acting duel. Buscemi’s hectoring quality suits Pierre, although as soon as Pierre comes on screen you can’t help thinking “loser” just because it’s Buscemi.
Katya actually comes off better than Pierre, in part because Sienna Miller’s performance is more surprising than Buscemi’s (Miller did a decent job as Edie Sedgwick in the otherwise lousy “Factory Girl”). She’s a little like her character: a very pretty woman who’s more talented than her public image would suggest. In this cat-and-mouse game, she’s not the mouse at all.
Steve Buscemi and Sienna Miller star in “Interview.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
