Film Review : The Interpreter

When you see the words "a cracker of a twist" on a film poster it can only be a bad thing.

You either spend the entire film trying to work out what the twist will be, only to be disappointed when it is finally revealed, or worse still you wait for the twist and it never comes.

The Interpreter's 'twist' fell squarely into the second camp. In fact I'm not too sure if there was really a twist at all.

The film was a slow burning thriller about a plot to assassinate a corrupt African dictator at the United Nations. Nicole Kidman did her best Ice Queen routine as the titular interpreter, and Sean Penn was his normal damaged self as the FBI agent tasked with stopping the assassination. (Bizarre fact : this is the second film involving Sean Penn and an assassination I've seen in the last week!)

The film had some good moments (eg the opening scene and the bus ride) but in the main it was a bit too slow and a bit too syrupy. They tried to make us care about the fate of the victims of this imaginary dictator, and imho they layed it on a bit too thick. All in all the film, like Nicole Kidman's character, left me a bit cold.

My rating is ***