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Merrill’s Corner: ‘The Tourist’

Posted in Merrill's Corner, Reviews on December 10th, 2010

Tourist

The Tourist while at first seems like your standard spy caper, is in actuality a rather interesting film. Interesting because similar to The Book of Eli back in January, this films final moments turn what is a mediocre piece of cinema, into a rather enjoyable good time at the movies. But I’m getting a head of myself.

Let’s start with the basic plot for a moment. Angelina Jolie plays Elise Ward, the girl friend of international thief Alexander Pearce. Pearce sends Elise instructions to find a man that looks just like him, and make the agents that are following her believe this man is him. This is where Johnny Depp’s Frank Taylor comes into play, and the rest of the movie continues from there.

Right off the bat I can tell you that Johnny Depp is the best part of this movie, even if his American accent is awful. I’m always a fan of the roles where Depp isn’t playing some wacky fantasy character. But rather he’s just playing a guy. Not even a normal guy, but just a guy. A grounded character. Things like John Dillinger in Public Enemies for example. People forget how well Johnny Depp does outside of all the fantasy roles he’s famous for. Throughout the film the one consistently good element are Frank’s quirks and comedy. The way he carries himself. A normal guy thrust into an extraordinary situation, which makes the ending that much sweeter.

As for Jolie, she too put on a rather crappy accent. But she was solid… Most of the time. Unlike Depp, she doesn’t really find her footing until the big reveal in the second act. That’s when everything changes and her character actually gains some depth that she was missing. But after thirty minutes she gets tired again. But then picks herself back up in the final moments of the film. Unfortunately, I can’t say how without delving into spoiler territory.

All that said however, I can admit that the chemistry between the two really didn’t seem to be there. Individually they worked really well, but I found it hard to believe them to be anything more than a necessary plot device. I put most of the blame however on Jolie’s need to command a scene rather than letting everyone shine within it. In movies focused on her that works, this is not one of those movies.

Where this film falters the most though is in its side characters. Specifically the ones played by Steven Berkoff and Paul Bettany, mostly Betanny. His character feels forced and uninspired. And instead of having this persona of “yeah, I’m a federal agent, what are you going to do about it?” It feels more like “hi, I’m the idiot with a badge and a gun, now what?”

Berkoff’s gangster character feels the same way. I didn’t feel scared when he killed on of his own henchmen with piece of fabric, I actually laughed a little. His character was just so poorly written.

As for the technical, the wide shots of Venice are breathtakingly beautiful. The action scenes, not nearly as pretty. But they work for the most part. Some of the camera work and direction does feel phoned in, but the script is strong enough by the end to make up for it.

The entire film takes on a new meaning in the final, final moments when everything falls into place. And what’s amazing is how surprising a twist it is, despite being the most obvious play. I would compare it to a base ball game in the bottom of the ninth and two outs. The away team has one pitch left. And the last thing the batter is going to expect is a fast ball right down the plate. But because it’s the last thing you expect it becomes surprising. That’s exactly how the ending of The Tourist plays.

Is The Tourist a mediocre film? At first it feels that way. But when the ending comes all you can do is sit back and say “wow, that was the last thing on my mind.” And it’s the very ending that turns The Tourist into a pretty OK film.

Final rating: 6.5/10

Merrill’s Corner: ‘The Tourist’

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