The Interpreter Movie Review: By Adam Mast, ZBoneMan.com

The Interpreter is further evidence of a fact that myself and a few close colleagues have known for sometime - that Sydney Pollack is one of the more overrated directors in Hollywood.. This is not to suggest that he hasn’t memorable movies (i.e. Tootsie), but for the most part, his resume consists of celebrated films that are either overbloated (Out of Africa) or just terribly dull (Random Hearts, Havana). And in fact, I prefer Sydney Pollack the actor (see his hilarious bit part in Death Becomes Her or his solid supporting turn in Stanley Kubrick’s swan song Eyes Wide Shut) to Sydney Pollack the director. In any case Pollack the director is back with the high profile The Interpreter.

In this Hitchcockian thriller, Nicole Kidman plays Silvia Broome, a U.N. interpreter who overhears a conversation that wasn’t meant for her ears and as a result, her life is suddenly placed in jeopardy. Federal agent Tobin Keller (played by Sean Penn) is brought in to protect Broome, but he quickly becomes irritated when he discovers that she is concealing information (mostly political in nature) that might break the case wide open.

The Interpreter unfolds like classic mystery, but what’s most mystifying is there isn’t anything particularly mysterious about it. Pollack seems hell-bent upon revealing too much too early - before we get past the first act the identity of two of the chief evil-doers is painfully obvious, which effectively drains the proceedings of any tension whatsoever. Even the much talked about bus sequence (which I won’t give away in this review) is unable to elevate the suspense factor, because everything that occurs is telegraphed. There is virtually no element of surprise.

Pollack spends much time developing Broome and Keller both individually and as an unlikely team. by putting their connection at the forefront of the movie, we at the very least, get a film with people worth giving a damn about. Both characters are played as lost souls and both have experienced loss in their lives. The dynamic between the two is the saving grace of the picture. Early on, there is friction, but by the end of The Interpreter, they’ve discovered that they have much in common. To Pollack’s credit, I like where these characters end up by the end of the movie. Quite often, the leads in films like this are shacking up in the first reel. This movie takes a completely different approach and it’s very refreshing.

Nicole Kidman is the true definition of class. This isn’t a showy role but rather a very introspective one and Kidman’s internal pain is extremely evident. Sean Penn too plays a character with deep, internal pain (his tragic secret has lot to do with the way he carries himself). The way he deals with this pain is quite the opposite of the way he dealt with it in Mystic River. There are a couple of moments when Penn overplays the role, but for the most part, he’s solid. I also must admit that I’ve become so disenchanted by Penn in real life as of late, that sometimes I have a hard time watching him on screen. He’s a brilliant actor to be sure, but I’ve tired of his off screen antics (did you get a load of his pretentious posturing during the Oscars?) I’m wondering if this guy even has a sense of humor anymore. Perhaps he should do a comedy again. After all, it was Jeff Spicoli that put this guy on the map. (Jude Law it’s up to you to come to his defense.)

Surprisingly, The Interpreter’s screenplay isn’t particularly engrossing. For a advertised as such a smart thriller, much of the dialogue is surprisingly stilted, and in some cases, downright cliched. Also, the film offers up characters that don’t seem to serve much of a purpose (I’m still trying to figure out what the hell the talented Catherine Keener was doing in this movie). This is all shocking given that Scott Frank (Minority Report) and Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List) worked on the script. Not so shocking though given that screenwriter Charles Randolph (Life of David Gale) was also involved. For a movie with so much going on, it never felt like much of anything happened..

My biggest problem with The Interpreter (in addition to a severe lack of surprises and the aforementioned dialogue) is the pacing. It’s just too damn slow. Pollack is clearly a fan of Hitchcock and this will be completely evident to the viewer. There are innumerable tips of the hat to Rear Window. Sadly though, the movie is so sluggish and dull that I’m loathe to compare it to the Hitchock classics it aspires to emulate. This movie could have taken a cue from last year’s compelling Hotel Rwanda. Not only was that an exceptional story about real people and political situations, but it also offered up scenes of sweat inducing suspense. The Interpreter by comparison puts it’s characters in situations that you’ll see coming a mile away.

I don’t want anyone to get the wrong impression here. I’m not implying that Sydney Pollack is a worthless film maker. His productions quite often come together in a slick fashion, but the hype that surrounds him really bewilders me. Despite solid performances by it’s leads and a few isolated effective moments, The Interpreter is much ado about nothing. It doesn’t arouse the same sort of profound disappointment that Random Hearts did, but somewhere along the line, something very critical to this film must have gotten lost in translation.

Grade: C

Adam Mast, ZBoneMan.com