The Interpreter

Since i've finished season two of Battlestar Galactica, Netflix has started sending me actual movies again. Last night's screening was The Interpreter. I wanted to see this one in the theater but couldn't quite motivate to make it out. I wound up being pretty happy with it at home though.

I didn't have high expectations, cos the trailer made it seem like a run of the mill thriller. It certainly wasn't groundbreaking. The obligatory plot twist flies past so quickly and with so little consequence that I felt a bit cheated. But then, I think the movie was trying to be more of a character piece, and in that sense, the twist itself is less important than what it winds up meaning for Kidman's character.

Speaking of which, I was surprised at how much I liked both main characters. Sean Penn is actually quite affecting as a husband mourning for his newly-dead wife. He does good work when he keeps the talking to a minimum (guy totally ruined that Sam Shepard play a few years back with his cheeseball overacting). And Kidman is sexy in that naughty librarian sort of way. No ass shots this time unfortunately though.

I remember there being a bunch of chatter about how the the movie was actually filmed in the UN building, and that was supposed to be so special, but really, i wasn't that impressed with the place. I liked the street scenes more, especially the ones in Brooklyn, and the peeping tom scenes too - that's where I regretted the PG-13 rating the most.