Okay. If you’re a film connoisseur or a polished critic of the silver screen, don’t bother seeing "The Tourist" with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. If you sometimes go to the movies just for the fun of it and occasionally enjoy a film where you can sit back, chomp on your overpriced popcorn, and forget about all things stressful, go enjoy "The Tourist".
This film required next to nothing from Angelina Jolie (as the mysterious “Elise”) so if you’ve ever wondered if in fact she can truly act, "The Tourist" will not help you make that decision. The camera is used to focus on her face and figure, accenting her bedroom eyes with thick false eyelashes. She’s rail thin except where it counts, and her elegant clothes fit like fine calfskin gloves.
Johnny Depp (as “Frank”), on the other hand, manages to entertain with perfect bumbling, adding occasional humor and perfect discomfort to his role with just enough spunk when required and a dash of suave manhood which surprises us at times. And likewise for him, the clothes make the man in certain scenes, and for once the powers that be decided to highlight his handsomeness while mocking it in the final scene.
"The Tourist" begins in Paris with surveillance on Elise. When she receives a letter at her outdoor café table, we read its contents with her and watch as she sets fire to it. She eludes her watchers, and they snatch the remains of the letter resurrecting its instructions. Boarding a train to Venice, she selects Frank, the math teacher from Wisconsin, to be her companion for a time, and he seems overwhelmed by her attention but is insightful enough to know she’s up to something. The woman who requires no questions befuddles Frank as he is pulled in by her beauty.
When men with guns start showing up to capture Frank, when police prove untrustworthy, and when Frank is rescued by the lovely Elise, we begin to understand the reason for all the commotion.
This is not a typical American movie, and in fact it’s a remake of an old French film. It’s being compared to Hitchcock-ish suspense with twists, but it’s so not Hitchcock. It’s European fluff with magnificent Venetian canal shots and boat action. The underlying pokes at Italian law enforcement and the subtle jabs at Scotland Yard and Interpol probably do not stray too far from the original intention of the French script. However, at times they give the movie a “Pink Panther” feel and make it difficult to determine if we’re to take it seriously or only partially so.
Anyway, this is not normal film fare for Johnny Depp who rarely allows himself to look so dashing and to play at romance. It’s got that touch of comedic style with the “perfect” ending, and if you like that kind of movie once in awhile, you can’t help walking out of the theater with a hint of a smile on your face.
Lord, you know my prayers for actors. You know how deeply you’ve planted them. Please, Jesus, make yourself known to those you've given me in prayer and bring them into the Life you offer. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.