Post by BIGFANBOY on Feb 13, 2009 3:55:13 GMT -5
THE INTERNATIONAL
Review by Gary Dean Murray
Every time I see Clive Owen on the big screen, I still think James Bond. The rumored front runner for one of the most in-demand roles of the last few decades is now known as 'the man who could have been 007'. But what the Broccoli family passed on is for the gain of the rest of the cinema world. He is building a solid career playing strong and silent characters, the latest of them is Salinger in the grand epic The International.
The film opens in Berlin at an INTERPOL agent meeting with a man willing to turn over evidence. After the meeting this agent walks toward Salinger, falling on an airport entrance. Salinger runs toward his downed comrade and is struck by a passing car.
On the other side of the movie, Attorney Whitman (Naomi Watts) is working on an international case. Her boss believes that the entire exercise is more of a waste of time, but this plucky little lady believes more in truth and justice than the safety of her family. She and Salinger have been working on a case that involves an international banking group called IBBC. They are in the business of working with a weapons systems purchase. The idea behind the company is to control the debt of the conflict. This leads to a political event in Italy where a man's life is in danger.
Salinger is a former Scotland Yard agent with a past. It seems that his witness against IBBC was discredited and he was busted down to working INTERPOL. Salinger explains to Whitman that his witness and their family mysteriously passed on, just after they had fallen out of protection. His getting IBBC is much more of a blood feud.
The plot threads keep tightening until we are back in NYC, and a heroic battle between different forces in the Guggenheim Museum. It's the big set piece from all the commercials and the only true action part in the entire exercise. It is stunning in scope with round upon round of bullets flying through conceptual works of art. The film needed much more of these battles and not so many 'connect the dots' moments. After the screening, I had to explain the ending to different patrons. It was that confusing.
The entire plot behind The International runs along those cloak and dagger mysteries like The Parallax View, but without the larger-than-life scope. Just because it jumps across all of Europe doesn't make it international. The film tries to be something more than the sum of its parts.
But the two leads both work well in their roles. Naomi Watts comes across as a credible agent and force for change. She gives it a good 'hard knock' try as a woman trying to be tough in a man's world. But Clive Owen doesn't know exactly where he is in terms of character. There is this lost look in his eyes as if he is just reacting without understanding exactly what is going on in his domain.
The problem with The International must fall directly on the shoulders of director Tom Tykwer. He is trying to make this complicated and layered motion picture in a world that wants to be sthingy fed its drama. Sometimes shooting above the audience's heads makes for a less than a satisfying motion picture experience.
The idea behind this film is that 'when the lion kills, the jackal prospers'. And with The International no one really prospers.
To go back to BIGFANBOY.com click here - www.bigfanboy.com