The Visitor (2008) Synopsis:
Revolving around a widower who lives a mundane existence as a college economics professor. His world is turned upside down when he meets two illegal immigrants, one of whom he befriends and tries to help when discovered by U.S. immigration authorities.
The Visitor (2008) Movie Review:
This gentle and very personal drama is almost disarming in the way it cuts across one of the West's most contentious political issues without ever getting political. And it features a terrific lead performance from Jenkins.
Walter Vale (Jenkins) is a widowed economics professor in Manhattan for a conference, staying in the now-empty flat where he lived with his wife. But an opportunist has rented it to an immigrant couple: Tarek (Sleiman) is a musician from Syria and Zainab (Gurira) is an artist from Senegal, and they have nowhere else to go. So Walter lets them stay in the spare room. Of course, they upset his carefully ordered life and also open his eyes to the world around him. And when Tarek is detained as an illegal alien, Walter knows he has to help.
There's an element of sharp comedy that runs gently through this film, looking at the collision of cultures from a wry perspective that catches us off guard, warmly examining the serious themes of ageing, immigration and prejudice. The meeting of these very different worldviews is provocative and gripping, especially when other characters join the mix, including Tarek's mother (Abbass), who adds an even more unexpected wrinkle to Walter's life.
It's terrific to see the gifted Jenkins in a central role for a change. He's always good at bringing out little surprises in his characters, and Walter is a terrific role: a bundle of compassion, cynicism and curiosity that seems unquenchable. And he becomes increasingly engaging as he wakes up to what's going on in his own culture, and to the joy of taking a few risks. Meanwhile, Sleiman's Tarek has a very different journey--from smiley and relaxed to nervous and angry, and we fully understand why.
As the story develops, each character emerges as a fully formed individual with a distinct sense of humour, singular passions and deep yearnings. These things both separate and unite them in startling ways. Like he did in The Station Agent, McCarthy uses a straightforward human drama to examine the intricate connections between people who shouldn't really get along at all. And he's also tackling some extremely big issues in a profoundly human way that forces us to get past our preconceptions.
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The Visitor (2008) review written by: Rich Cline
12th October, 2008 
