The Visitor - B-

On DVD. 108 minutes, Rated PG-13. Trailer.

The conventional wisdom in movieville this summer was that The Visitor was the strongest early indie contender for several Academy Awards. Um, no. Richard Jenkins is Professor Walter Vale, a lonely recent widower going through the motions with his job and his life. When he reluctantly goes to Manhattan to present a paper at a scholarly conference, he discovers illegal immigrants living in his long dormant apartment as a result of a misunderstanding. His desperation for human interaction leads him to let them stay, and away we go on every limousine liberal's pipe dream. Click below for more on a movie that allows one of its characters to say (referring to the USA) "its just like Syria":

Of course the illegal immigrants in question are attractive, intelligent, well spoken and talented, especially Tarek. He is a bongo drummer that 'just wants to live his life and play music'. After lots of bonding betweeen Connecticut liberal guy and immigrant guy, Tarek inevitably gets arrested for an extremely marginal offense and then put into the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) lock-up with indefinite rights and information. Vale puts his life on hold to help him get out and falls in love with Tarek's mom in the process. No cliched happy ending here, just a scene with Vale erupting at a clerk after being excessively polite and well mannered for the previous hour and a half.

The film is frustrating because its starts out quietly and intelligently with Vale and his life. By the time the sunny Tarek gets surprised while practicing his bongos in his tightie-whities, the film has been derailed so badly it became a chore to watch. Vale gets to use his money to entertain and help the immigrants and even learns to play the bongos along the way. The writer/director (see below) seems mad at the USA about how illegal immigrants are treated, but doesn't offer any solutions or coherent arguments against it except that it is unfair. A trip to the Statue of Liberty is an obvious reminder about most American's roots, but there is little acknowledgement that Tarek et al are ignoring the immigration laws of the United States, unlike those Ellis Island immigrants.

The subtext of the film is that Vale is moving from classical (specifically piano) music to African music and a new chapter in his life (his wife loved classical piano). It had the Shawshankian feeling of "get busy livin' or get busy dyin', but without any of the associated resonance.

This film was written and directed by Tom McCarthy (role player in Meet the Parents, Syriana etc, direcotr of Station Agent (B+)). The direction is excellent, with lots of subtle close ups and restrained images telling the story. Jenkins is excellent in his performance and will likely get a Best Actor nod. Some have this on the Best Picture shortlist - if it ends up there this will truly be the weakest of all follow-up years to the greatness that was 2007.