The Interpreter (2005)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: A polished and intelligent thriller, though marred by plot implausibilities.
The Interpreter Videos & Photos
Movie Info
Escalating events begin when African-born U.N. translator 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 … More
| Rating: | PG-13 (for violence, some sexual content and brief strong language) |
| Genre: | Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense |
| Directed By: | Sydney Pollack |
| Written By: | Charles Randolph, Steven Zaillian, Scott Frank |
| In Theaters: | Apr 22, 2005 Wide |
| On DVD: | Oct 4, 2005 |
| Box Office: | $72.5M |
| Runtime: |
People Who Like this movie also like
Cast
as Silvia Broome
as Tobin Keller
as Dot Woods
as Nils Lud
as Philippe
as Zuwanie
as Kuman-kuman
as Marcus
as Police Chief Lee Wu
as Simon Broome
as Jad Jamal
as Rory Robb
as Mo
as Doug
as Ajene Xola
as Doug
as Ajene Xola
as Jean Gamba
as FBI Agent King
as FBI Agent Lewis
as Phillip Ostroff
as Fred Jameson
as Charlie Russell
as American Ambassador ...
as Jonathan Williams
as African Boy
as African Boy
as African Boy
as Luan
as Isobel
as Jenny
as Matoban Ambassador
as Tour Guide
as G.A. President
as French Ambassador
as Chilean Ambassador
as Portuguese Janitor
as Forensic Officer
as Woman On Bus
as U.N. Security Office...
as U.N. Security Office...
as U.N. Security Office...
as U.N. Security Office...
as U.N. Security Office...
as U.N. Security Office...
as Polygraph Technician
as Mechanic
as Stripper
as Stripper
as Spanish Speaking Int...
as Russian Interpreter
as Secretary General
as Young Silvia
as Young Simon
as Himself
as News Reporter
as News Reporter
as News Reporter
as British Airways Tick...
as Roland
as Jonathan Ferris
Friend Ratings
No Friends? Inconceivable! Log in to see what your friends have to say.
LoginCritic Reviews for The Interpreter
All Critics (196) | Top Critics (46) | Fresh (108) | Rotten (84) | DVD (36)
Penn is terrific in his low-key doggedness.
This is largely a competent, successful thriller, but observing global politics from this perspective is an uncomfortable, frustrating experience.
The film's themes are disappointingly vague and unspecific, built around a fictitious African country that stands for anywhere -- and consequently nowhere.
As a character drama about dealing with violence and loss, The Interpreter is a quiet success. Unfortunately, it's a thriller, and all of the qualities that make it a successful character study rob it of the tension a thriller needs to succeed.
Much ballyhooed for its on-location filming in and around the United Nations building in Manhattan "The Interpreter" works better as a captivating drama than it does as an espionage thriller due to some sticking plot points that prevent the audience from
It's a dumb movie masquerading as smart but failing miserably.
Audience Reviews for The Interpreter
Kidman and Penn are good actors but the script is a bit limited, especially in terms of characterization, and it just leaves you thinking that this could've been so much better than what it was. Good thriller.
Super Reviewer
Tobin Keller: I'd rather make the mistake of believing her, than the bigger one of not.
"The truth needs no translation"
Despite liking both Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn(both of whom give good performances), I was left underwhelmed when The Interpreter was all said and done. For the most part, it was really just a dull drama with some thriller elements tossed in here and there. It never had me on the edge of my seat like it could have.
It's not technically a horrible movie, but I really found no joy in it. Other then the leads; the film doesn't really have any redeemable qualities. It's really dialogue heavy which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired.
There are a few really interesting scenes, but as a whole the movie never really comes together. It doesn't flow at a good pace. It's slow, slower and then slowest and then for a three minute stretch it will pick up the pace. Then it will go back to it's snail crawl. I'm okay with slow films if they have good characters, dialogue and situations. This movie has one interesting character(Kidman's, Penn's character was lifeless, although he did play him well), bad dialogue and two or three cool situations. I really wish this would have turned out different with the people involved. But I guess I can just go watch one of Penn's or Kidman's countless great movies.
Super Reviewer
A disastrous film that tries to be more complex than it should be, each time coming up with more unnecessary details at the expense of simple concision. The obvious, predictable narrative suffers from terrible dialogue and gets lost amid contrivances, implausible situations and plot holes the size of Africa.
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
Discuss The Interpreter on our Movie forum!
