Saturday, February 21, 2009

The Visitor (2008) Film Review - Richard Jenkins

Plot Summary - Indie film about Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins), a quiet, mild-mannered, middle-aged economics professor, widowed and leading a rather humdrum life alone in Connecticut. He also keeps an apartment in NYC, but when he heads there to present a paper at a conference he finds a young immigrant couple have been illegally sublet his place and are living in it! The couple, a Syrian man named Tarek and his African girlfriend who sells jewelry, are allowed to stay by Walter until they find another place, but he ends up befriending them and finds his lifestyle about to change as Tarek teaches him to play the Djembe, an African drum - cool! Trouble with immigration for Tarek brings his mother to stay with Walter as the two bond while trying to help Tarek before he ends up deported.

Review - This is a quiet film, with interesting plotline and on-location scenes filmed in a rather rainy New York City. I quite liked this. Richard Jenkins received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for this role, by the way. Rating - 8.5/10 stars

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