MPAA Rating: PG-13
Original Review Date: May 16, 2005
Reviewed by: Erin, Movie Muse
In a Nutshell: Eh. It was okay. Rent it if you really feel
the need, but I found it neither overly political nor overly
thrilling. Wasn't it supposed to be a political thriller? It
wasn't bad, it just wasn't good. It was just... there.
Quick Plot: A UN interpreter overhears an assassination plot
after hours being discussed in a language that only she and a
few other people speak. The Secret Service is finding it
difficult to believe her, especially considering that she is
less than forthcoming about various aspects of her possible
involvement.
In Detail: I really thought this film had potential. I love
the psychological Hitchcock-type thrillers, and I felt this one
had a good chance, particularly given the setting (the UN), the
director (Sydney Pollack), and the leads (Kidman and Penn). It
had all the right pieces, they just didn't work for some reason.
I'm not quite sure how the whole can add up to be less than the
sum of its parts, but it did. I think they tried very hard to
be politically correct, which took out any possible political
punch of this self-styled political thriller. Fine by me,
though, as I'm not a very political person, and I rarely enjoy
those types of films.
But, I also felt that Nicole Kidman came off very cold, which
didn't allow me to connect with her or, ultimately, feel much
concern for her. Hard to get worked up about the fate of
someone you don't care about. Same for Sean Penn; I didn't
really care about his character either, no matter how tragic
they tried to make him. There was also no chemistry between
them, so even the possible tension aspect was lost, in spite of
attempts to allude to it. I think that was ultimately the main
problem with the film: I just didn't care about any of the
characters. It was also a very slowly paced film. Now, this in
and of itself is not bad, but combined with little action, flat
characters, and a plot that tried too hard not to offend, I was
left simply *watching* the film, without really being engaged on
any level, and even being rather bored in places. I can't
really even say that it's worth seeing. I just found it quite
blah. As I said, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good.
