Customer Reviews
good chemistry between nicole kidman and sean penn make this worth seeing - By: dan the fan, 02 Sep 2008 
The Interpreter is not that exciting & it does not have so many twists & turnsin the plot that it is too interesting either, but it is a competently made film with good dialogue & has two fine performances from sean penn & nicole kidman to keep the viewer watching.It is the chemistry between these two & their shared suffering that make the film worth seeing.
actually great!! - By: Ms. F. I. Macdonald, 03 Aug 2008 
I'll be honest, I wasn't really expecting too much from this film. I love Nicole Kidman but she has beenin some pretty dodgy roles. I was happily surprised & gripped by this great political thriller. Especially tyingin with events that have been happeningin America it made it even better. Sean Penn is also a great actor & the two of them work so well together!! This is well worth a watch, You'll love it!!
One of my favourites - By: Aesop, 22 Jun 2008 
This is a great action-packed thriller which keeps your brain-cells ticking & keeps you on the edge-of your seat; it is more intellectual compared with othersin some ways. I recommend it. Great taste & flavour of the UN as well---giving an overall picture of what such a great institution is capable of achieving & why it exists today--words, compassion, diplomacy & justice will forever dominate over sheer brute force & violence.
I may be spoiling the film if you haven't seen it to some extent but it has some of the most beautiful & lyrically poetic lines ever----close to the end of the film:
'The gunfire around us makes it hard to hear.
But the human voice is different from other sounds.
It can be heard over noises that bury everything else.
Even when it's not shouting.
Even if it's just a whisper.
Even the lowest whisper can be heard over armies....
When it's telling the truth...'
The above is an extract from a fictional book written by one of the film's main characters: Dr.Edmond Zuwani.
The above lines alone for me is what makes this film worthy of 5 stars.(whoever they may have been written by)
I encourage you to watch the film to understand its context & greater meaning....Not many thrillers can truly move you & prompt you to understand humaneness & humanity.
very disappointed - By: D. Paterson, 02 Mar 2008 
I expected an unusual & gripping film. Instead, I was bitterly disappointed especially with the barely acting part of the the so-called heroine who simply could not be heard & mutteredin a most monotonous voice with no real acting ability. I ask . " How on earth did she succeedin landing that part? " After about half an hour, I indexed the film forward bit by bit, but there she still was. muttering incomprehensively with a really sulky expression permanently graven on her face. Really the film may have some quite passable action shots, but if one is notin the least interestedin any of the characters - however good the action might become, one remains unmoved & bored by this film which I hired out as a DVD rental. Just another disappointment & I am partly to blame for not researching it beforehand sufficiently !
Something has been lost in translation - By: Cheeky Monkey, 29 Sep 2007 
I'd read other reviews of this film claiming it was an intelligent & stylish thriller & I remember regretting missing it at the cinema as it seemed to promise a happy change from the usual gun & gore fests that dominate Hollywood's output. However, I have to say this film left me cold & my prevailing thought at the end was "Is that it?"
The story starts well with a prologue involving a sinister double-crossin Madeupnamelandin Africa followed by Kidman's character inadvertantly stumbling across a plot to kill a controversial African leader. After that it just disintegrates. If you watch this film you can look forward to a whole series of tiresome Hollywood clichés including tough but fragile heroine, cynical but sensitive cop, ruthless but incompitent hitman, corrupt & murderous African leader & twists & turns more predictable than a spiral staircase. The most jarring thing is the name of the invented African country & I'min doubt the writers thought "We need something that sounds African... hmm... Umbongo... Bongobongoland... Umpalumpaloolaa...".
On the plus side there are creditable performances from Penn & Kidman with the latter never looking better, but the remainder of the cast are little more than moving wallpaper. The New York backdrop is familiar & used to completely unspectacular effect and, without wishing to spoil part of the plot, I was left wondering if anybodyin the Big Apple ever closes their curtains.
I hoped for stylish & intelligent. I got hackneyed & predictable. I won't be adding it to my shopping basket.
