THE INTERPRETER — ** 1/2 — Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, Catherine Keener; rated PG-13 (violence, gore, profanity, vulgarity, brief nudity).
It's easy to assume that "The Interpreter" is smarter than it is.
After all, it was scripted by two smart screenwriters — Scott Frank and Steve Zaillian, who wrote "Get Shorty" and "Schindler's List," respectively. And it features several smart actors — led by stars Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn. It also comes from a director, Sydney Pollack, who has a penchant for producing smart material — "Three Days of the Condor," "Tootsie," "Out of Africa."
But the suspense-thriller "The Interpreter" isn't quite as smart as it thinks it is. The film is definitely over-plotted, and there are several creeping Hollywoodisms, such as the introduction of an implausible romantic subplot.
Still, it's hard to come down too hard on an old-fashioned thriller like this one. There are some pretty tense moments, the plot does keep you guessing and the performances are effective, especially the somewhat enigmatic character played by Kidman.
She stars in the title role as Silvia Broome, a translator at the United Nations who, while returning there late one night, overhears what she believes is a conversation between conspirators planning an assassination.
However, the Secret Service agents she tells, including Tobin Keller (Penn), are skeptical about her claims and begin investigating Silvia instead.
But they find evidence to suggest that Silvia's story may be true — that there really may be a plot to take out Edmond Zuwanie (Earl Cameron), the unpopular dictator of an African country.
So it becomes a race against time, as Tobin tries to uncover the truth and fights his growing attraction for this woman, who is either his chief eyewitness or his No. 1 suspect.
The romantic subplot is a major mistake, and it doesn't help that Penn and Kidman are mismatched. Actually, he has considerably more chemistry with co-star Catherine Keener, who plays his professional partner (a character who deserves more screen time).
Fortunately, Pollack doesn't let that element dominate, and the final third of the movie does have some gripping moments. If only the script were a little more streamlined. At times it's hard to tell all the players without a scorecard.
But, hey, who can argue with a movie in which the too-dour Penn actually manages to crack a smile.
"The Interpreter" is rated PG-13 for some strong scenes of violence (shootings and some explosive mayhem), some gore, scattered use of strong profanity, some lewd dancing (during a brief strip-club scene), and some brief nudity (veiled nudity, as well as some nude photos). Running time: 128 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com