You have to wonder when a piece of obvious Oscar bait like Sidney Pollack’s The Interpreter comes out this time of year.

      The movie has the right credentials – an intriguing plot designed to appeal both to mass audiences and intellectual critics and confirmed Oscar winners in director Pollack (Out of Africa 1985) and lead actors Nicole Kidman (The Hours 2002) and Sean Penn (Mystic River 2004).  Trailers appearing in theatres last winter began building interest in the film.

      And then it’s released in April.  April is, indeed, the cruelest month, at least in movies – long after the crush of serious award contenders in November and December, well before the crowd-pleasing blockbusters of summer.  April is when modest romantic comedies, schlock horror, and failed high-concept movies released to recoup studio costs rule the Cineplex.

      So what’s wrong with The Interpreter?  Nothing.

      Pollack’s direction is sharp and confident, and his two stars bring matching intensities to their roles – Kidman as Sylvia Broome, a United Nations interpreter who accidentally overhears a death threat to an African leader, and Penn as Tobin Keller, a Secret Service agent assigned to investigate her claims while still recovering from the recent death of his wife.

      The plot is satisfying but fairly conventional, without a lot of twists. We know from the beginning the threat is real, and soon realize who must be behind it.  Predictable or not, the plot is executed without flaw. 

      Anyway, the real interest is in the relationship between Sylvia and Keller.  Pollack told an interviewer from the Washington Post that his real interest was in “trying to find those personal stories within convention,” and it shows here.  Keller’s suspicion of Sylvia is almost palpable as he informs her that he is not there to protect her, but to investigate her.

      “And we were getting along so well,” Sylvia answers, her look of steel seeming to justify Keller’s distrust.

      As Keller comes reluctantly to accept the truth of Sylvia’s story and she learns to accept his help; they even share moments of self-revelation, always recognizing that they are “ka-pela” – a phrase in the fictional Ku language that means “standing on opposite sides of the river.”  Their relationship develops through a series of one-on-one encounters – notably in an iconic scene where Keller tenderly washes blood from Sylvia’s face after she is nearly killed, then cradles her as she falls asleep in his arms.

      However, it also becomes clear that Sylvia has other secrets connected with her past, secrets which she will not share with Keller no matter how close they become.  These secrets add an element of suspense to the ending – we know the threat she heard was real, but do we know which side she is on?

            After dominating the film for most of two hours, Kidman’s Sylvia is off-screen for an extended period as the president of fictional Matobo arrives to address the UN amid frantic security efforts to protect him.  All this is just thriller convention, and okay for what it is – but what we really want to know is when Sylvia will be back.

      Although that reappearance is milked for maximum tension, the ending is the weakest part of the movie, and the sheer conventionality of the plot will probably keep this film off the lists of serious Oscar contenders.  In this film, though, it is the journey not the end that seems to matter, and Penn and Kidman insure that it is an interesting trip. 

 This review appeared in the Aberdeen American News on April 25, 2005.

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This page last updated on April 28, 2005.