Oscar Quest Review: The Interpreter
Okay, housecleaning time. Since I haven't posted in a month and I happen to be home from work today (which has nothing at all to do with it being my birthday. Nope. Not a thing.), I think it's a good time to get some entries up so this blog looks less...pathetic.
First up, the Oscar Quest Review of The Interpreter.
The Interpreter really, really wants to be a taut, intelligent political thriller. It's gotten itself all dressed up in an Oscar-winning cast, sprayed just a hint of Eau de Hitchcock, and headed off to the theater in search of a sophisticated and discerning audience. Among the other desperate tramps screaming for attention at the box office, The Interpreter smiles coyly and says "Choose me" with a promise that, unlike the latest J-Lo flick, this time you won't feel guilty in the morning. It wants to be the movie you tell all your friends about and call on again. But, sadly, in the morning you've forgotten all about it. Just like J-Lo.
A bit of plot: Silvia Broome (Nicold Kidman) is the interpreter of the title, working at the United Nations and trying her hardest not to start global thermonuclear war by misinterpreting someone's request for coffee as a declaration of war. We assume that Silvia has a mastery of many languages, but we only get to see her mad interpreting skillz when everybody suddenly starts speaking Ku, the tribal language of her African homeland. One night, after hours, Silvia returns to work to retrieve some things she left in the interpreting booth and overhears an assassination plot (spoken in Ku, of course) against the dictatorial leader of aforementioned African homeland, who will be addressing the General Assembly in just a few short days. Enter Tobin Keller (Sean Penn), a U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to investigate Silvia's story. Keller doesn't believe her, then he does, then he doesn't again and people start dying and things start exploding and twists start happening and... well, you get the idea.
The Interpreter is not a bad movie. (A poorly paced one, but not a bad one.) I enjoyed it while watching it, despite the plot relying way too much on twists and coincidences. But given the people involved, I would have thought the movie would be a little more...memorable. I am writing this review a month after seeing the film, and I'll be damned if I can really remember the details of the plot. I give The Interpreter two and half glasses of Chateau Petrus.
Oscar chances: Slim. It's way too early in the season and the movie is just not good enough to be remembered when the ballots go out. Sydney Pollack has a tiny chance at director, but that would be more for who he is than the movie itself. I can't see where the film stands out in any of the technical awards. In fact, The Interpreter's best chance at an Oscar is if the Academy adds a new award this year. Best Peformance by a Building in a Supporting Role goes to...the United Nations.
First up, the Oscar Quest Review of The Interpreter.
The Interpreter really, really wants to be a taut, intelligent political thriller. It's gotten itself all dressed up in an Oscar-winning cast, sprayed just a hint of Eau de Hitchcock, and headed off to the theater in search of a sophisticated and discerning audience. Among the other desperate tramps screaming for attention at the box office, The Interpreter smiles coyly and says "Choose me" with a promise that, unlike the latest J-Lo flick, this time you won't feel guilty in the morning. It wants to be the movie you tell all your friends about and call on again. But, sadly, in the morning you've forgotten all about it. Just like J-Lo.
A bit of plot: Silvia Broome (Nicold Kidman) is the interpreter of the title, working at the United Nations and trying her hardest not to start global thermonuclear war by misinterpreting someone's request for coffee as a declaration of war. We assume that Silvia has a mastery of many languages, but we only get to see her mad interpreting skillz when everybody suddenly starts speaking Ku, the tribal language of her African homeland. One night, after hours, Silvia returns to work to retrieve some things she left in the interpreting booth and overhears an assassination plot (spoken in Ku, of course) against the dictatorial leader of aforementioned African homeland, who will be addressing the General Assembly in just a few short days. Enter Tobin Keller (Sean Penn), a U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to investigate Silvia's story. Keller doesn't believe her, then he does, then he doesn't again and people start dying and things start exploding and twists start happening and... well, you get the idea.
The Interpreter is not a bad movie. (A poorly paced one, but not a bad one.) I enjoyed it while watching it, despite the plot relying way too much on twists and coincidences. But given the people involved, I would have thought the movie would be a little more...memorable. I am writing this review a month after seeing the film, and I'll be damned if I can really remember the details of the plot. I give The Interpreter two and half glasses of Chateau Petrus.
Oscar chances: Slim. It's way too early in the season and the movie is just not good enough to be remembered when the ballots go out. Sydney Pollack has a tiny chance at director, but that would be more for who he is than the movie itself. I can't see where the film stands out in any of the technical awards. In fact, The Interpreter's best chance at an Oscar is if the Academy adds a new award this year. Best Peformance by a Building in a Supporting Role goes to...the United Nations.
posted by joopiter at 5/18/2005 11:26:00 AM
3 Comments:
Are we getting C.R.A.S.S. Army t-shirts made up? I'd totally get one....
www.neighborhoodies.com
we could actually get t-shirts made!
Yeah, once I come up with a logo, maybe I'll make us some official looking pins and shirts and stuff.
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