A tense, intelligent political thriller with some great star power, Sydney Pollack's 2005 film THE INTERPRETER draws you into its mysteries.
Director Pollack is no stranger to political thrillers. His "Three Days of the Condor" and "The Firm" are prime examples.
He introduces us to interpreter Silvia Broome, well played by Nicole Kidman. When she returns to the UN late one night, she overhears a clear and precise discussion about the assassination of a controversial leader about to speak at the UN.
Sean Penn is Secret Service agent Tobin Keller, assigned to Silvia but suspicious of her complicated political background in South Africa.
Is she really who she pretends to be?
Keller's own life is not without its complications, a recent loss in his life has him off his game.
The deeper Keller digs, the more Sylvia appears to have a past that would tie her to the conspiracy. It's a well spun web with plenty of political ramifications.
It's the first movie to ever film inside the actual United Nations buildings in New York and those settings lend a lot of credibility.
Steve Zallian (Schindler's List) and Scott Frank (Logan, Minority Report) are great writers and know how to create well spoken characters whose real motives are more complicated than black & white.
Fun, very smart and suspenseful, it's well supported with a great score by James Newton Howard (Signs, The Sixth Sense).
THE INTERPRETER twists & turns its way to an enjoyable B+.
The last feature film from Sydney Pollack before his untimely death in 2008, he stands as one of our best American directors, with classics like "Tootsie", "Out of Africa", "The Way We Were" and "Jeremiah Johnson" standing in tribute to his talent.
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