The Visitor (Tom McCarthy, 2008)

[Antoine Doinel]

I'm a really big fan of his first feature, The Station Agent. Here's the trailer for his sophomore effort.

[flyonthewall2983]

Looks good. It's nice to see Jenkins in a starring role, I've always admired him as a character actor.

[Antoine Doinel]

Saw this tonight and thought it was a wonderful little film. Yeah, it wears its political heart right on its sleeve, but it's developed so earnestly and sincerely it's really hard not to fall into the films rhythms. McCarthy's deft script thankfully never falls into a trap of being a "White Guy Rescued By Exotic Cultures" film, but offers something a little more complex. A film of quiet outrage that asks for a little more humanity in our government and ourselves.

[souvenir]

Took me a little while, but I finally saw this one today and agree with Antoine's comments above. McCarthy, here and in The Station Agent, has a knack for creating characters I really, really care about, as well as casting actors who are perfect for their roles. The Visitor has its problems with stacking the deck in terms of a "good illegal" and so forth, but I simply didn't care. The issues the film raises are ones that need to be addressed and they're far from being easily answerable. This film doesn't feel like one trying to make a definitive statement on illegal immigration. It seems to just want the viewer to at least consider these situations.

I was also struck with post-9/11 questions of liberty and how the events of that day have really mushroomed to destroy freedoms, some simple and some more complicated. More and more, the tragedy of those events seems to be the aftermath more than the immediacy.

And I can't imagine seeing five more effective lead male performances this year than what Richard Jenkins accomplished. I'd be awestruck if his name is even seriously considered come nomination time, though.