The movie starts with a bang and the tension mounts with the open mike incidence at the UN center. Then, a lull phase kicks in with lots of fluffy subplots including background check, lie detector test, family history which drag it on and on. Those are perhaps needed for character development but could have been made more interesting. The tempo picks up after Silvia is put under 24 hr surveillance and with the ensuing events. Good acting from S. Penn and N. Kidman although she physically looks too soft and delicate for what she went through in her childhood and young adult years. The plot is sort of predictable but with good acting and directing, the movie is still enjoyable if you ignore the utterly puerile finale.

The "interpreter" attacks current issues like terrorism and genocide. It illustrates our contemporary Western policy that chooses to cover up what is really going on in Africa. But it also shows the few strong individuals who want and dare to fight for democracy and change, and to me as a peace activist, it is very important. I also like the view of vengeance found in the fictional country of Matobo in Africa, becouse as Nicole Kidman's character tells "Vengeance is a lazy form of grief," And she also tells a very interesting story from Matobo: When a man kills a member of your family and is captured, he is tied up and thrown into the river, and it is up to your family to save him, or let him drink. If he drewns, you will have vengeance, but you will grieve all of your days. If you save him, you will be released from your lament. That's why I rank the movie as high as on the second place on my list over in my opinion the world's best movies.The second thing that makes this movie so good is the actors is Nicole Kidman makes a really good impression to me whit a vaguely South African accent and a little girl fearing peering out from behind her big-girl occupation. And Sean Penn matches here with a weary professionalism, a way of sitting there and just looking at here , as if she will finally break down and tell him what he thinks she knows. It's intriguing the way his character keeps several possibilities in his mind at once, instead of just signing on with the theory that has the most sympathy from the audience. Part of it obviously depends on Sydney Pollack's extraordinary direction.

In his last few outings before his death in 2008, Sydney Pollack has made an abundance of average films. In 2005, three years before his death, Pollack closes up his directing career with a gripping suspenseful eye-opener of movie titled "The Interpreter". The movie itself is saturated with scintillating performances, the characters are sublime and the never once does the viewer's intelligence never gets insulted. The story has a feeling like a modern-day Alfred Hitchcock feeling to it as the suspense will likely keep you intrigued. This is the swan song in Pollack's final directorial project that couldn't have come at a better time. The story kicks off as United Nations African interpreter Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) was gathering personal apparatuses when she overhears a plot to have her country's president assassinated in which involves a visit from an African dignitary. Fearing her life is in danger, Silvia calls up F.B.I. Secret Service Agent Tobin Keller (Sean Penn), who has immediate suspicions about her, but softens up to her knowing there's more to the story than what she's telling him. Fearing her life is in peril, while not telling Keller all the details, Silvia is now in whirlpool of trouble as the dignitary is coming to her neck of the woods in a matter of days. Though aging and not in the best of health at the time, we wondered if Pollack still had in him. The man brought us "Out of Africa" has made come back to the thriller genre which stapled his career to exceptional fame with films like "Three Days of the Condor" and "The Firm". As the years gone by, Pollack's directed has fizzled with mindless drivel like "Random Hearts". But not here in "The Interpreter", he sails away nicely with an exciting thriller that will likely keep you on your toes. In the world of movies where the young is dominant, this 71-year old utilizes his dedication and his audiences respect and his clever pacing while refraining from spoon-feeding every detail that comes onto screen. This is a great way to show that for a thriller it's neither mindless drivel or a half-baked effort even if it won't garner any Oscars. Even though the thrills are the key component to this film, "The Interpreter" has a well developed characters that sort of grow onto you as the film progresses. Pollack has good timing when it comes down to boiling points as to when the plot thickens and the suspense level gets more under your skin. This results in the performers to actually get a better enhancement on the characters they're portraying making them all the more crowd pleasing rather than predictable and one-dimensional. This is truly one of Pollack's best directing projects in a long time where suspense, pathos, and perpetual unsettling the whole way through.The most important scenes that deserves the utmost attention comes from the scenes emanating from the bus. Without giving away spoilers, the ingredients to an outstanding thriller we have an interpreter who heard too much, distressed politicians, overwhelmed F.B.I. agents, and top that all off with explosives in a tight moving surface. These set pieces are what makes this movie all the more special. This scene alone is worth the price of admission. As Silvia, Kidman has proved she's one of the best performers in the industry today, even in non-Oscar caliber films. Her vast versatility speaks volumes with her movie-star hair even down to the African accent, we get lost in her role she plays as we question what allegiance she truly represents and we begin to trivialize whether her innocence is coincidental or if there's more than meets the eye. Kidman keeps the mysterious level in her character throughout and never lets it go and continually gives Penn's character more in doubt of what she really stands out for. Penn has a more difficult job at hand and his expressions speak louder than what it seems. This gives Penn more of a good excuse to get more inquisitive with Silvia and to find newer hooks to further enhance his character's drive. With the assistance of a wonderful script by Martin Stellman and Brian Ward, Penn and Kidman could still turn an average film into something provocative and through the direction of Pollack, this mediocre thriller has enough spark to keep the thriller aficionado enlightened but never insulted.With the remarkable cinematography under Darius Khondji, "The Interpreter" is pure eye candy along with all the other parts of the anatomy that will have you tingling with excitement. It's nice to see Pollack back in his thrilling force. Though in the last years in life he did production, this movie was truly his last moment to shine and couldn't have come at a better time. A big salute to a career for the director Sydney Pollack.

The Interpreter is a tense, taut, and tight thriller that grabs your attention from the opening scene. I was surprised at the fairly mediocre reviews because it's way better than that. It's nothing new and the story/script is a little weak, but the acting is incredibly strong and the film itself is very engaging and interesting to say the least.Sydney Pollack's film is about a U.N interpreter from Africa, Silvia who overhears a plot to assassinate the president of Matobo. After she reports the plot, she is named as a suspect and is kept a close eye on by Tobin Keller who works for the Secret Service. But Silvia is about to find out her own world may be crashing in on her.The acting is very strong and that is a highlight of the film. Sean Penn easily distinguishes himself with each movie and is very good and has a strong screen presence. Nicole Kidman, with her slight trace of an African accent, is also very good and I find this role to be one o her best.Overall, this is a political thriller that will keep you on the tightropes. It may not offer anything new, but it does offer some entertainment and a story worth remembering. This film is also known as Sydney Pollack's last film and I find this film to be a worthy example of all the wonderful films he made. As thrillers go, it doesn't get any more entertaining than this. I rate this film 9/10.