The Interpreter (2005)

Political intrigue and deception unfold inside the United Nations, where a US Secret Service agent is assigned to investigate an interpreter who overhears an assassination plot.

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

Martin Stellman (story), Brian Ward (story),

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, Catherine Keener

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicole Kidman	...	Silvia Broome
Sean Penn	...	Tobin Keller
Catherine Keener	...	Dot Woods
Jesper Christensen	...	Nils Lud
Yvan Attal	...	Philippe
Earl Cameron	...	Zuwanie
George Harris	...	Kuman-Kuman
Michael Wright	...	Marcus
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Police Chief Lee Wu
Eric Keenleyside	...	Rory Robb
Hugo Speer	...	Simon Broome
Maz Jobrani	...	Mo
Yusuf Gatewood	...	Doug
Curtiss Cook	...	Ajene Xola (as Curtiss I'Cook)
Byron Utley	...	Jean Gamba

Storyline

Escalating events begin when U.N. interpreter Silvia Broome alleges that she has overheard a death threat against an African head of state, spoken in a rare dialect few people other than Silvia can understand. With the words "The Teacher will never leave this room alive," in an instant, Silvia's life is turned upside down as she becomes a hunted target of the killers. Placed under the protection of federal agent Tobin Keller, Silvia's world only grows more nightmarish. As Keller digs deeper into his eyewitnesses' past and her secretive world of global connections, the more suspicious he becomes that she herself might be involved in the conspiracy. With every step of the way, he finds more reasons to mistrust her. Is Sylvia a victim? A suspect? Or something else entirely? And can Tobin, coping with his own personal heartache, keep her safe? Though they must depend on one another, Silvia and Tobin couldn't be more different. Silvia's strengths are words, diplomacy and the subtleties of ...

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Plot Keywords:

assassination | interpreter | african | diplomacy | secret service | 

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Taglines:

The truth needs no translation.

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, some sexual content and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

UIP [es] Universal [us]

Country:

UK USA France Germany

Language:

Aboriginal English French Portuguese

Release Date:

22 April 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tolken

Filming Locations:

Praça de Touros Monumental, Maputo, Mozambique

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,718,779 (France) (10 June 2005)

Gross:

$72,515,360 (USA) (22 July 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Working Title Films, Misher Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of Pettigrew was offered to a number of name actors but Sydney Pollack only decided to play the role because it was impossible to get a name actor he wanted .

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Goofs

When Tobin was revealing to Silvia that he knew about the e-mail she sent to Philippe, Tobin said "write me", but the e-mail really said "call me".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Simon Broome: She wouldn't tell me her husband's name. She wouldn't even write it.

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Connections

References Three Days of the Condor (1975)

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Soundtracks

"Laughter"
(Rouse)
Performed by Josh Rouse
Courtesy of Rykodisc Limited

User Reviews

Not bad...

The truth is that Sidney Pollack's career has been rather irregular. He's capable of doing very good movies ("Tootsie", "The Firm"), but he can as well make pure rubbish such as "Sabrina" or "Random hearts". You never know what to expect from him. Anyway, fortunately "The interpreter" is closer (in quality) to "The Firm" than to the remake of "Sabrina". It is a nice suspense film, and Pollack copes very well with this kind of products. "The interpreter" is no masterpiece, but this plot involving the Secret Service of the USA, the UN, and some African war lords is quite entertaining and it's been filmed such elegantly.

I wonder if it wouldn't have been much better to choose another actress to play the ex-guerrilla character. I mean, Nicoloe Kidman is a wonderful performer, she's always OK, but she doesn't look that much like a paramilitary. Sean Penn is OK too, as usual, but neither him nor Kidman have made the work of their lives in "The interpreter". They look like they're on the automatic pilot. It doesn't matter though, none of them have anything to prove at this stage.

*My rate: 6/10