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

Nicole Kidman had to interrupt filming to shoot additional scenes for The Stepford Wives after a negative test screening.

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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

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Million Dollar Movie Week 4 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"
(Traditional)
Performed by Dagmar Aller Jonasdottir

User Reviews

a thought or two on The Interpreter

Last night, I watched The Interpreter, primarily because I wanted to see if Sydney Pollack still had it and in my humble opinion, he does. I don't see too much film-making like this these days. For one thing, it's slow, but in a good way. Too many suspense films speed by at such an absurd rate that there's never any time for a mood to be built or characters to be known. Here, we get to know the characters intimately and are gradually drawn into the complex and compelling and relevant plot. Speaking of relevance, there is, here, a "message", but it's delivered organically by way of carefully structured storytelling and character development, not with a bullhorn and fireworks. Speaking of characters, I love the understated performances in this film by Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman. I love also the moments in this film, such as when Penn's character in a country-western bar unplugs the jukebox to stop the noise of some country-pop crap then restarts it in order to play Lyle Lovett's wonderful "If I Had a Boat" then goes to a pay phone and calls his own house just to hear his wife's voice on the answering machine.

Also, while I have nothing against fast, action-adventure-cartoon-type violence when it's done just right. The violence in this film isn't exciting. It's just as it should be considering the subject matter. It's sad and desolate and when a man speaks his last words to the child-soldier who has just shot him and when a bus is bombed or a desperate man is betrayed and murdered you feel it, the final moments of human lives; a being being taken away. There's room for sentiment in such films and it doesn't have to be sap as it so often is.

I don't follow entertainment news much these days (much as I'd love to) because such stories and reviews and even trailers (which I also used to love watching) give away far too much of the story (which I'm trying here not to do) so I don't know how this film was received, but I hope it did well and if it didn't, I hope audiences come to discover and love it gradually so that there might be more films like it.