A perfunctory political potboiler that sags quite noticeably in the middle and utterly wimps out at its climax, The Interpreter is nevertheless a moderately engaging thriller that attempts to mix its message with a bit of audience-friendly multiplex banality. The film's aims are admirable, but this flabby suspense flick could stand a little less preaching and a little more adrenaline.

Directed by Oscar winner Sydney Pollack (who pops up in an uncredited cameo here as Secret Service chief Jay Pettigrew) and written by Charles Randolph, Scott Frank and Steven Zaillian (from a story by Martin Stellman and Brian Ward), The Interpreter is steeped in intrigue and deception – United Nations interpreter Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) accidentally overhears pieces of a hushed conversation detailing a possible assassination attempt on the life of Dr. Edmund Zuwanie (Earl Cameron), president of the fictional African country of Matobo. Cynical Secret Service agent Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) is assigned to investigate Broome's suspicions, despite his doubts about their veracity. The deeper Tobin digs, the more he uncovers about not only the murky conspiracy, but about the lovely, mysterious interpreter who's not revealing everything she knows.

Despite working with a story that's innately compelling on the surface, The Interpreter gets too bogged down with grafting a will-they-won't-they romantic subplot onto the narrative; Penn and Kidman project far too much intelligence to simply make doe eyes at one another during fleeting moments of alone time – clipping the interminable five-minute sequence where Tobin and Silvia share a late-night phone call would be a great way to help not only firm up the film but also reduce the distraction that is the awkward romance.

That said, Pollack does wring some effective moments of nerve-jangling suspense out of the occasionally inert narrative; helped immeasurably by editor William Steinkamp's almost relentless cross-cutting, The Interpreter does overcome its narrative torpor long enough to deliver some satisfying thrills and in being allowed to use the United Nations lends real weight to the proceedings. I had some issues with the ending as it cheapened one of the main character's beliefs that had been passionately articulated more than once throughout the film; by trying to have it both ways, I felt that Pollack undermined his engaging premise.

The Video:

The Interpreter is offered here in a crisp, clean 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. I couldn't detect any defects in the picture, as you would hope with a recent theatrical release, and there's no edge enhancement to speak of. Overall, Darius Khondji's restless cinematography looks great.

A robust, immersive Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is included; James Newton Howard's evocative score filters nicely through the surrounds, dialogue is heard clearly without distortion and the few action sequences pack a hefty punch. A nice compliment to the sterling visuals.

A healthy array of supplemental material is included here: a feature-length and wide-ranging Pollack commentary discusses everything from production difficulties to working in the UN; a two minute, 58 second alternate ending is here, presented in grainy, non-anamorphic widescreen – it slightly reworks what's in the theatrical version and actually weakens the narrative further; I still wish they'd gone for the jugular. Two minutes, 20 seconds of deleted scenes, presented in non-anamorphic widescreen is on board as are several compelling featurettes: the 10 minute "Sydney Pollack At Work: From Concept to Cutting Room," the five minute, nine second "Interpreting Pan & Scan Vs. Widescreen," the eight minute, four second "The Ultimate Movie Set: The United Nations" and the eight minute, 18 second "A Day In The Life of Real Interpreters."

An involving premise is ultimately undone by a bloated length and unnecessary subplots that complicate an already dense narrative, The Interpreter is nevertheless an intermittently engaging thriller that has a message worth hearing and a pair of compelling performances from Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn. Recommended.