Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10688 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-08-15
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English, French, Portuguese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Director Sydney Pollack delivers megawatt star power, high gloss, and political passion to The Interpreter, his first thriller since The Firm. With Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn delivering smooth, understated performances, the film more closely recalls Pollack's 1975 Robert Redford/Faye Dunaway paranoid thriller Three Days of the Condor, trading conspiratorial politicians for potential assassination in the United Nations General Assembly (this being the first film ever granted permission to use actual U.N. locations). Kidman plays a U.N. interpreter who inadvertently overhears hints of a plot to kill the reviled, tyrannical leader of her (fictional) African homeland; Penn is the Secret Service agent assigned to protect her, or to determine her role (if any) in the assassination scenario. By distancing itself from real-life politics, The Interpreter softens its potential impact as a thriller about contemporary globalization and threats to international peace, but the Penn/Kidman personal drama (between two people who gain a deep appreciation for shared anguish, without being artificially forced into romance) adds a richly human dimension to Pollack's expert handling of the thriller elements of a complex yet easily-followed plot. Indie-film stalwart Catherine Keener shines in her supporting role as Penn's sarcastic by sympathetic Secret Service partner. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Synopsis
Director Sidney Pollack's diverse career sees him returning to familiar ground with 'The Interpreter'. Crafted from the same mould that saw Pollack produce the superlative political thriller 'Three Days Of The Condor' (1975), Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn star in a film riddled with subterfuge, recriminations, and deadly secrets. Kidman plays Silvia Broome, an interpreter who works at the UN in New York City. One night, while collecting a bag she has left behind in the building, Silvia overhears a whispered conversation in which an assassination attempt on a redoubtable African leader, named Zuwanie (Earl Cameron), is planned during his future visit to the UN. Secret service agent Tobin Keller (Penn) is assigned to provide security for Zuwanie on the forthcoming trip, and conducts an investigation when Silvia explains what she has heard. He quickly discovers that Silvia has a lengthy, troubled past as a citizen from the same country as Zuwanie, and immediately doubts her story. A series of frantic, fast-paced set pieces ensue, with Pollack beautifully capturing the architectural wonder of the UN, and staging some breathtaking scenes all over the city. Much has been made of 'The Interpreter's status as the first film to be shot inside the UN, and it's to Pollack's credit that he wasn't overawed by such a prospect. Making full use of the building, the director highlights the hustle and bustle of a typical day at the UN, while also shooting eerily silent late night scenes among the famous halls and corridors. As Pollack piles on the tension, Penn and Kidman deliver exemplary performances alongside a prodigious supporting cast, who do justice to an intelligently written plot designed to keep viewers guessing right up until the final moments of the film.

Customer Reviews

Gripping political thriller
Nicole Kidman plays the part of a young South African translator to the United Nations, Silvia Broome. While working late she overhears a plot to assassinate the genocidal president of her home country, Motambo. When she reports her story, Silvia is placed under the protection of federal agent Tobin Keller (played by Sean Penn). As Keller digs deeper into Silvias past and her secretive world of global connections, he becomes suspicious that she herself might be involved in the conspiracy. With every step of the way, he finds more reasons to mistrust her. As the danger of a major assassination on U.S. soil grows Silvia and Tobin must join forces in a race to stop a terrifying international crisis from occurring on US soil.

While I found Nicole Kidman's performance very good in this film I did find her South African accent all over the place at times. There were parts where I couldn't understand what she was saying at all. I've worked with South Africans in the past and they're not that hard to understand!! For me though the most praise must go to Sean Penn who gives an astounding performance as agent Tobin Keller. This performance for me was on par with his performance in Mystic River....it was just that good.

The plot was so believable that it upset one African leader in particular who felt the film was based on his character (hey, if the cap fits!). All in all I found it an entertaining political thriller and feel it deserves 4 stars.

The Interpreter
"The Interpreter" is almost worth watching for the fantastic and intriguing shots of life within the United Nations building alone. Never before have a film crew been allowed inside, and to get a fly on the wall view of this place of international diplomacy is exciting.

Nicole Kidman plays Silvia Broome, an American born, but African bred interpreter working at the UN in New York. Returning to the building late one night to pick up some property she left earlier, she overhears a whispered conversation in the rare African language spoken in the country she was brought up in, Matobo. The conversation discusses a possible assassination plot of the Matoban President, Dr Zuwanie, who is planning to visit the UN to defend charges of genocide that have been alleged against him. Broome reports the incident and is investigated by Secret Service Agent Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) whose job is to protect the Matoban President when he makes his visit. Keller not only has to ensure the President's safety but he must also ensure nothing happens to Broome, who seems to be the target of mysterious pursuers.
Broome herself though, perhaps isn't the whiter than white innocent she first appears when Keller discovers that she was involved in the rebel uprising in Matobo.

The film is full of the usual sort of plot, sub-plot and counter-plot so you never really know who is on the side of who, who is chasing who and who are the goodies and who are the baddies! For all this though, the film is never confusing and the twist at the end is well worth waiting for, even though it's a trick that has been used before.
Use of tension throughout is excellently done and there are more than one occasion that will find you on the edge of your seat. The fact that some of the story developments have a poignancy all of their own in today's world, makes the film even more riveting.

Kidman, as ever, gives a great performance and manages to play the role not as a victim but as a strong willed woman who believes in what she is doing. Penn, with that fantastic expressional face, is similarly good as the world weary and baggage carrying agent. They play off each other really well and it's a credit to the film that it never slips into a romance story even though you could believe the two main leads would have an attraction for each other.

All in all, an intelligent and exciting thrilling drama that has the added bonus of being bang-up to date with current affairs giving it an important relevance.

Fine performances don't save dissapointing thriller
First things first. The basic premise of the story follows South African UN Interpreter Silvia Broome (Kidman) who overhears an assassination plot. As she heard it in the main hall of the UN, surrounded by microphones, nobody believes her. Especially Secret Serviceman Tobin Keller (Penn). But as the date of the plot nears, concerns grow about the safety of the target, and the honesty of the Interpreter. The leads, Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, are - as usual - on fine form and the direction from Sydney Pollack is constructive and well engineered. However, the ridiculous plot and the lack of character development drags the film (especially it's dull ending). The supporting cast is, as you would expect from a Pollack film, is excellent, but yet again the failings of the script merely place these characters filling gaps when Kidman and Penn arn't on-screen together.
As I said, the ending is extremely dull and very predicatble, and after an impressive start, the film brings itself to a standstill. Overall, it promises a lot, but delivers little.