Do this in memory

Review by Vives Anunciacion

For Sonny Evangelista, who would have enjoyed commenting on this film

The Interpreter
Directed by Sydney Pollack
Written by Martin Stellman, Brian Ward, Charles Randolph, Steven Zallian, Scott Frank
Starring Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn
PG 13/
Opens April 22
Universal Pictures/ Working Title/ Misher Films

Sidney Pollack, bless this director who barely makes movies nowadays, he makes this one like the thrillers of old. No nonsense storytelling, with an assured pace and confident flow sans the fanfare. Set mostly in the halls of the United Nations headquarters in New York, The Interpreter has just enough suspense for a thriller, but more importantly, puts the politics back in political thrillers.

Nicole Kidman plays Silvia Broome, a South African native working as interpreter for the United Nations. One night inside the UN, she overhears a whispered conversation apparently plotting the assassination of Edmond Zuwanie (Earl Cameron), dictator of the (fictional) African nation of Matobo. Zuwanie is scheduled to speak before the general assembly to quell critics of his government and dispel rumors of genocide. In this time of paranoia and terror threats, security is instantly heightened at the UN and around New York. A secret service agent (Tobin Keller, played by Sean Penn) is assigned to protect Silvia.

The plot thickens when Silvia’s anti-Zuwanie history surfaces, making Keller believe that she’s either a liar or part of the threat. But something pushes Keller’s disbeliefs aside – a sense of connection for both loss and determination not only say she’s the real deal, and that the threat is frighteningly imminent. As the authorities scramble to capture the real terrorists, the true Silvia emerges – sending the story to a whirlwind of surprises.

Director Sydney Pollack creates an intelligent film about despots and diplomacy as well as an engaging thriller set in the once-obscure halls of the UN. The Interpreter is masterfully shot, edited with reserve and excellently written. The movie plays out almost entirely inside the headquarters, which in itself is an attraction since it’s the first time filming was allowed inside the building. Kidman and Penn are both impressive, playing vulnerability and strength in different swings of subtlety only great actors can pull off, especially Kidman, who is required to show so many nuances and yet has to add mystery to the convoluted plot. Here are two big stars at the top of their game. Their combination onscreen is even more emphasized by parallel editing at times when their stories run the same line. Great camerawork and lighting by Darius Khondji.

What The Interpreter offers is a relevant theme beneath the veneer of a Hollywood suspense thriller. At one point it shows the power of words and meanings in a place where there isn’t just one language to describe them. But even with an invented language (Ku), The Interpreter shouts a message all too familiar to understand - it’s all too easy to switch Matobo for Zimbabwe and Zuwanie for the dictator Mugabe, and the issues presented by The Interpreter become as relevant as they are startlingly real. One nation’s tyrant is the world’s tyrant, all the same.

At least they’ve put the politics back in political thrillers. That’s what Sonny would have said.