The International

Posted on February 24, 2009 at 11:36 am by lkeddie | Permalink

———

Released 27th February 2009

—-

———–

Bourne has definitely raised the bar for action thrillers: As plots get more complex, and the number of international locations grows, so, too, does the expertise of the film-making style. The International by Perfume director Tom Tykwer is one such example of a well-shot and well-edited film, clinically orchestrated, technically, but with stylised beauty shots, such as the breathtaking ‘birds-eye’ views throughout. It also boasts an attractive storyline that is highly topical in today’s economic climate, and even though a work of fiction, supposedly based on fact with the downfall of the Bank of Credit and Commercial International (BCCI) in the 1990s, you can’t help but wonder what other real-life, shady financial dealings will come to light in near future: You can almost feel the banks squirm, should their representatives watch this. Like a prophecy, it has a powerful impact on the imaginations of any ordinary person who watches it.

———–

Although adding nothing particularly new to the genre, with two intrepid, bull-dog-like investigators at the helm, in Interpol Agent Louis Salinger (played by Clive Owen) and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts), it is refreshing to have an institution as the ‘baddie’ in a film. Wisely, this film casts local actors, adding credibility and that near pseudo-documentary feeling. That said there are some howlers that spoil an otherwise believable script, including the moment Whitman asks the wife of a murdered banker if she knew about her husband’s arms dealings for the bank over unsecured email. Thankfully, the film-makers demonstrate that they have their international law enforcement facts in order and, unlike other films and TV series, have not tried to portray Interpol as some covert international police force, as emphasised by Salinger’s boss in the film that: “Interpol is not in the law enforcement business”. The superior editing is demonstrated best in the action scenes that do not try to ‘mock’ the audience by recreating the frenetic nature of the chase with shaky camerawork and fast pans, but just, meticulously, show the action as it is played out.

———-

There is also a stark beauty to the almost monotone palette and impersonal style of the film’s design. The various bank and institution scenes exude corporate ‘cleanliness’, making sure that the viewer is as alien to the environment as Salinger is. Apart from the ‘organised’ clutter that is in various locations in New York, and around Salinger’s Interpol desk, the only other vibrant scene is also the film’s most memorable: The exhilarating Guggenheim shoot-out scene. From personal experience, in addition to holding some of the world’s dullest modern exhibitions, you can take great glee from seeing the pristine white décor being sprayed with bullets and coated in blood, with a ’smashing’ finale. There are some fantastic ‘gliding’ camera shoots as the baddies and Salinger slug it out around the curved interior. In amongst all the beauty are some of the most grizzly, wound-spurting moments seen in a non-war movie in some time that accentuate the validity and seriousness of the events, coupled with a moment of humour when an innocent museum visitor’s mobile goes off with a ‘welcome to the dark side’ ringtone.

——-

Clive Owen plays angry and frustrated with conviction and apparent ease throughout. Nevertheless, there are times with him as the lead where he leaves you wanting for more, whether it is a lack of character development in the script, or a lack of character emotion at times, it’s hard to say. In comparison to Perfume’s immensely intriguing Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, who said very little but spoke volumes, Salinger is almost painted as a one-dimensional, stony-faced, ex-cop with a large chip on his shoulder, with only occasional snippets into his chequered past, but little else. That said Owen as Salinger further highlights his suitability to action-based hero roles in this film, prompting further consideration of him as a new Bond. Co-star Watts gives an average performance as his legal sidekick, adding the necessary female glamour, but hardly sets the screen alight. It is the supporting roles from the likes of seasoned TV/film ‘detective’ actor Jack McGee, and the hugely engrossing, puckered-lipped Armin Mueller-Stahl as the unlikely bank informer, Wilhelm Wexler, that add credence to the acting as a whole.

——–

Frighteningly realistic and beautifully crafted, The International makes for a relatively engaging trip to the cinema in credit crunch times, and is bound to provoke debate into the financial world’s clandestine dealings and increase public suspicion further. It is exactly the kind of cinematic experience that both entertains and informs to deliver an overall solid result.

——

By Lisa Keddie

——

Synopsis

——-

Interpol Agent Louis Salinger and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman are determined to bring to justice one of the world’s most powerful banks. Uncovering myriad and reprehensible illegal activities, Salinger and Whitman follow the money from Berlin to Milan to New York to Istanbul. Finding themselves in a high-stakes chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk as their targets will stop at nothing–even murder–to continue financing terror and war.

—–

Film Facts

———

Official UK site: http://www.sonypictures.co.uk/movies/theinternational/

UK Release Date: 27th February 2009

Director: Tom Tykwer

Writer: Eric Singer

Cast: Clive Owen (’Louis Salinger’), Naomi Watts (’Eleanor Whitman’), Armin Mueller-Stahl (’Wilhelm Wexler’), Ulrich Thomsen (’Jonas Skarssen’), Brian O’Byrne (’The Consultant’), Jack McGee (’Detective Bernie Ward’), Felix Solis (’Detective Iggy Ornelas’), Nilaja Sun (’Detective Gloria Hubbard’), Haluk Bilginer (’Ahmet Sunay’), James Rebhorn (’New York D.A.’)