The problem is that Penn can’t play just any agent trying to do his job. He has to have his own traumatic back story and overflowing well of grief over a dead wife, because what’s a Penn performance these days without the actor emoting in close-up for a camera frozen in awe? (You can practically hear the director say, “And now, ladies and gentleman, the stylings of the premier actor of his generation.”)
…
After all, [Kidman] has a back story of her own…
In the true spirit of diplomacy, Edelstein lets both the director and the writers have it in his Slate review of The Interpreter.
Lost in Translation [slate]