It's that time of year again - work may be getting you down, or there's just nothing to look forward to at the moment... It is then that trailers start popping up with none other than Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in the lead roles. Talk about eye candy!
From German director Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck (and if you think his name is long, you should check out his Dad's) comes The Tourist - this winter's action/romance/thriller with some serious star power behind it.
Johnny and Angelina share the limelight...
As usual, Angelina Jolie steals the screen with her unrivalled beauty and presence, so for any Jolie fans out there this film is a real treat as she is in nearly every scene. Playing the lead of Elise Clifton-Ward, Jolie pulls out all the stops to produce a character so elegant, and so mysterious that it unfortunately overpowers the whole film. With the ever handsome Johnny Depp alongside her as love interest Frank Tupelo (or so he seems) it would appear that Henckel Von Donnersmarck created one hell of a pitch to get the two actors involved.
Other faces of note to spot in the film are two Brits who deserve some credit, often being the unsung acting heroes of most of their films - Rufus Sewell and Paul Bettany. Both actors starred in the hit film A Knight's Tale (Brian Helgeland, 2001) with the late Heath Ledger, and both delivered excellent performances as the Count Ademar and Geoffrey Chaucer respectively. With such an impressive cast, how can such a film fail?
It all goes downhill from there
Well, I hate to say it, but The Tourist is not one to rush out and see. Though entertaining enough to wile a couple of hours away watching, that is all that the film is good for. True to form, the acting talent are flawless, and Jolie's British accent is uncanny. However, the movie never really gets going, and only gets reasonably interesting at the climax of all the action.
Depp's character, Frank, suddenly seems to change from being an ordinary, middle-aged Maths teacher to the hero of the hour, asserting his own sense of authority, breaking free from the clutches of MI5 to rescue his love, Elise. It is at this point in the film that you realise there was not enough suspense built up to warrant this kind of immediate action. Furthermore, Jolie's Elise begins to get rather irritating throughout the last half of the movie, as she never does anything quickly, and is never definite about anything. Now, I can understand that this is probably how the character has been written, but it doesn't half get old after a while.
Something must be right with this film?
On the plus side, the film is one of the most beautifully shot that I have seen in a long time, and the cinematographer must have been in heaven when he found out they would be filming in Venice and Paris. Even simple tracking shots of Frank running barefoot across the rooftops of Venice are beautiful, and throw Jolie into the mix and you've got an artistic paradise.
In terms of plot and narrative, though at times slow, there is a clever twist at the end which you may or may not see coming. Personally I guessed it about half way through, but that was because I was determined to work it out. The narrative pace quickens up as the finish line is in sight, and the last half an hour of the film is actually quite good. But, this does not compensate for the rest of it. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't achieve the right tone for it to be a successful thriller, and is more concerned with the romantic element of it - in my opinion this is the wrong balance of the two genres. More emphasis should be on the thriller storyline, and how Elise has become entangled with Alexander Pearce, who is absent but at the same time constantly present in the audiences mind.
In terms of recommendations, this is not one I would urge anyone to go and see. However, if you enter the cinema with low expectations, or if you are a die hard Depp or Jolie fan then it's a reasonable watch. It's witty, visually stunning and has moments entertainment... not to mention Johnny Depp's face magnified in front of your eyes.
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