RATE “THE VISITOR” MOVIE Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it. CREDITS

FILM: The Visitor LANGUAGE: English / French / Arabic RELEASE DATE: 7 September, 2007 In Toronto Film Festival RUN TIME: 104 Min. STAR CAST: Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Jekesai Gurira, Hiam Abbas, Marian Seldes, Waleed Zuaiter, Ashley Springer, Amir Arison And Others MUSIC: Jan A P Kaczmarek EDITING: Tom McArdle CINEMATOGRAPHY: Oliver Bokelberg ART: Len Clayton SCREEN WRITER & DIRECTOR: Thomas McCarthy PRODUCTION DESIGNER: John Paino PRODUCERS: Michael London, Mary Jane Skalski & Jeff Skoll PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Groundswell Productions, Next Wednesday Productions & Participant Productions

***SPOILER ALERT*** Hmmm… INITIAL THOUGHTS

THOMAS McCARTHY is one of the most promising Screen Writer cum Directors. Back in 2003, he gave us the fantastically written independent movie THE STATION AGENT. And now, he comes back in the form of THE VISITOR. Lets welcome this visitor…

PLOT OF THE MOVIE

A college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his secondary apartment. Learning their helpless state, he lets them stay for a while and develops an almost instantaneous bonding.

• RICHARD JENKINS has impressed me in many character roles through out his career. I knew that he would surprise us all when given enough screen time. He showed his flashes of brilliance even in some very ordinary movies like RUMOR HAS IT… And through THE VISITOR, he got his long overdue screen time. Every blink of his eye, conveys something… which is very hard to find in many of the so called leading stars. He plays the role of a college professor Walter Vale, who is a widower and simply disinterested in his mundane job and so his life. He lives through the character with so much conviction that it is hard for us not to empathize his situation. He is definitely in for a long round of applause by the public and award juries alike.
• Now, is there any sane mind out there that thinks HIAM ABBAS as a lesser actress? Once again, Abbas shows her resolute self in the character that demands a lot of restraint and lesser dialogue. She is quite charming even at her age. She plays the role of Mouna Khalil, mother of Tarek Khalil.
• The other primary characters of Tarek Khalil & Zainab are portrayed by HAAZ SLEIMAN & DANAI JEKESAI GURIRA. Well, these are the young couple that stays in Walter’s apartment. They both are equally competent in their respective roles. There are no overtures by either of them and Tarek’s portrayal as an African Drummer is instantly likable.
• Although this movie is a very low budgeted one, there is high quality filming all through the movie and the Original Music Score by JAN A P KACZMAREK is simply superb. Having Music at the heart of this movie needed an authentic sound and feel which is fulfilled to perfection by Kaczmarek.
• The most crucial part of THE VISITOR is the Screenplay and Direction by THOMAS McCARTHY. As there is a very thin script, it needed a very gentle pace which neither skips our attention nor overwhelms us with narration. If it were to be paced any faster… we would have definitely missed the affectionately warm vibes that are felt now. As we start digging deep in to the character of Walter as the movie progresses, we realize that he is not a cliche (some might think in the beginning). In one of most disarming scenes, Mouna Khalil makes an ineffectual appeal to her son’s lawyer, who is too busy to devote his full attention to her. The scene seems obvious and even a bit cliche… with an overworked lawyer who is a Middle Eastern immigrant. But just when it’s about to derail, McCarthy subverts our expectations with a fleeting moment of sympathy. That’s the beauty of good Screen Writing.

• The only let down as far as SCREEN WRITING goes is NOT the premise of letting the strangers stay in his apartment as that is very well articulated. In fact, it is the very manner that the first acquaintance takes place. When Walter (Richard Jenkins) walks in to his apartment and finds that there is someone else in the house (as there is a vase with fresh flowers), like in a typical B grade Hollywood horror movie, he slowly and silently checks every room instead of just asking out loud “Is there anyone in the home…?” This scene is not in tune with the rest of the qualitative writing.

NOT SO… FINAL THOUGHTS

THE VISITOR, in essence, is a warm tale which might be a bit cliched with its premise, but told in a manner that reeks of realism, genuine concern as it brings forth the misunderstood borders between people. Many high handed Americans might cry foul about the setup of the movie which deals with Stringent Immigration Laws… but the truth remains that it is one of the most simple, unpretentious and heart warming movies in recent times.

As for any lessons that INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY has to learn from this movie… it would be to forgo the pathetic excuse that Hollywood or Foreign movies have higher budgets to make so many brilliant movies. Including the remunerations for THE VISITOR, it would be nowhere closely budgeted to the high budget movies in India.

KALCHA RATING

9 out of 10 stars

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