The Visitor

April 25, 2008

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 108 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Thomas McCarthy wrote and directed this film (He’s also an actor on THE WIRE). He also did the excellent 2004 movie THE STATION AGENT, and this is a somewhat similar theme of alienated strangers coming together.

Richard Jenkins, a character actor whom you’ve probably seen in a lot of movies but didn’t know by name, plays Walter, a widower college professor in Connecticut. His wife died some time ago, and now he’s just going through the motions, teaching classes he doesn’t care about.

When a colleague asks him to present a scholarly paper at a conference in New York City, he goes to his second apartment there which he hasn’t been to in months if not longer.

To his (and their) great surprise, he finds two people living in his apartment, a Muslim couple living illegally in the U.S. Tarek is a drummer from Syria, his girlfriend Zainab is from Senegal in Africa, in a relationship that would raise eyebrows from some other Muslims.

They first assume he’s a burglar. As it turns out, they’ve rented the apartment in good faith from a con artist who somehow had the keys.

They vacate the apartment, but when he sees them out on a street corner obviously with no place to go, he offers to let them stay for a few days until they can find another place.

Gradually friendships grow between the couple and this guy. He discovers an interest in
drumming, and Tarek begins to teach him to play the drums.

Complications ensue when the INS becomes aware of Tarek’s illegal status.

This is a quiet, touching movie, that revolves around realistic characters from entirely different walks of life coming together.

Posted by Mack Guffin | Filed Under 4 Stars, Danai Gurira, Drama, Haaz Sleiman, Hiam Abbass, Richard Jenkins, Theatrical