Thomas Martin wrote and directed this engaging film about college professor Walter Vale (Oscar-nominated Richard Jenkins) marooned by the death of his wife who rediscovers life after discovering an illegal immigrant couple living in his New York City apartment. He finds a kinship with the couple, a Sengalese woman, Zaniab (Danai Jekesai Gurira) and her Syrian boyfriend, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman). In particular, he he is drawn to Tarek and his drumming and soon is joining a drumming circle that meets in Central Park. But when Tarek's status as an illegal alien is uncovered after he jumps a subway turnstile, Walter comes face-to-face with the post-911 reality in America. He hires a lawyer to help navigate the immigration and detention process and intervenes with Tarek's mother, Mouna (the beautiful Hiam Abbass), when she arrives from Michigan. With a common bond, a fast friendship and romance soon develops between Walter and Mouna that plays out in the last half of the film. The Visitor walks a delicate tightrope between these two stories and succeeds in giving us true-to-life characters facing true-to-life situations. Never moralistic or judgmental, The Visitor shows us a fact of life: people come to the United States illegally and are deported back. This is a great drama if only to watch the superb performances of Abbass and Jenkins.
My rating 9 out of 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment