The Stanford Business Reporter takes on The Interpreter
Lyndsay Harding, MBA1
Issue date: 4/11/05 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Taking a break from feeding each other grapes on the beach while vacationing in LA, over Spring Break MBA1s Mindy Davidowski and Scott Grossman attended an intimate screening of The Interpreter, starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn. The film was followed by a Q&A with the film's director, Sydney Pollack, who has helmed hits such as The Firm, Out of Africa, and The Way We Were. The plot of The Interpreter swings into motion when a UN interpreter (Kidman) informs the Secret Service that she has overheard details of an assassination plot against a major leader of a (fictitious) African nation. The leader of the team assigned to investigate the interpreter's claim (Penn) is drawn into an increasingly complex web of politics, lies and betrayals as he struggles to assess the legitimacy of the threat against the African leader and the interpreter's role within the intrigue. I sat down with Mindy and Scott to get their take on the film and Mr. Pollack's commentary.
Scott: I liked the film a lot more than Mindy, but I agree with her that that the plot was too confusing. In the Q&A, Pollack said the script was really confusing when he first got it and it has to be rewritten three times to make it more streamlined. However, the acting was really phenomenal and brought the movie out for me. As the movie progresses and the plot becomes more contrived, the audience has to engage in the willing suspension of disbelief to get into it, but the quality of the acting was so great that I was able to overlook some of the deficiencies in the plot.
Mindy: The movie was ridiculous. As time went on, it just became too hard to follow: the plot was so intricate and there were so many characters that you had to keep track of in order to understand what was going on. Moreover, there are two actors that look very similar, which makes it even harder to keep people straight. That said, the key action scene was riveting and very well done. The audience is on the edge of their seats for about 11 minutes. In the Q&A, Pollack said the scene was particularly challenging to shoot because every main character is in the scene for so long. However, the movie is much more of a suspenseful thriller than an action flick. I agree that the acting was the best part of the movie.
Scott: I liked the film a lot more than Mindy, but I agree with her that that the plot was too confusing. In the Q&A, Pollack said the script was really confusing when he first got it and it has to be rewritten three times to make it more streamlined. However, the acting was really phenomenal and brought the movie out for me. As the movie progresses and the plot becomes more contrived, the audience has to engage in the willing suspension of disbelief to get into it, but the quality of the acting was so great that I was able to overlook some of the deficiencies in the plot.
Mindy: The movie was ridiculous. As time went on, it just became too hard to follow: the plot was so intricate and there were so many characters that you had to keep track of in order to understand what was going on. Moreover, there are two actors that look very similar, which makes it even harder to keep people straight. That said, the key action scene was riveting and very well done. The audience is on the edge of their seats for about 11 minutes. In the Q&A, Pollack said the scene was particularly challenging to shoot because every main character is in the scene for so long. However, the movie is much more of a suspenseful thriller than an action flick. I agree that the acting was the best part of the movie.