THE INTERNATIONAL: ROLLING THE HIGH ROLLERS
March 5th 2009 06:49
Clive Owen stars as Louis Salinger in The International
With the world financial system slowly sinking deeper into the dark pool of its own ham-fisted investments, banks have seemingly replaced plane-jacking terrorists as public enemy number one of the western world. Timely then is Tom Tykwer’s The International, a movie that will surely be the first of many about subversive financial institutions and bent banking practices.
The story of international corporate intrigue centres on Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) who has slowly been uncovering a geopolitical conspiracy stemming from an institution called the International Bank of Business and Credit. After a fellow agent is killed during a meet with a possible informant, Salinger teams up with New York Assistant DA Eleanor Whitman(Naomi Watts) and the two attempt to ramp up their investigation of the IBBC, only to find that the bank is inextricably linked with a kaleidoscope of western governments and corporations all over the world. As the duo make their way from Berlin to Milan to New York and then back to Istanbul, the idea of justice in a conventional seems less and less realistic and Salinger begins to consider other means by which he can break the stranglehold of corruption.
As a film, The International certainly has a lot going for it: an elaborate but cogent plot taken straight from today’s headlines; the intense presence of Clive Owen; and some brilliantly orchestrated set pieces, including a cold sweat-inducing old-school political assassination and a fantastically choreographed shoot-out staged in the Guggenheim. But for all the goals it kicks for relevance and extreme action, The International is brought to heal by a disappointing lack of character.
In this regard, Eric Warren Singer’s script starts off promisingly, hinting at past troubles in Salinger’s career, tribulations he apparently took on at a personal level. Unfortunately, as things roll on Singer seems to spend so much time meticulously spooling out the action and efficiently tying together plot holes that he forgets about his main character. As the plot progresses, Salinger’s mission becomes more personal but his background is never properly elaborated upon, so when he rides off in the final act to set the world to rights he leaves the audience behind, wondering whether they'll get their car out of the parking lot before closing time. The character of Whitman gets similarly short thrift, and by the end of the film she seems almost totally surplus to the film’s requirements.
Naomi Watts lends support in an undercooked part as New York Assistant DA Eleanor Whitman
The script failings are a shame because The International does a lot well. Tykwer’s direction is generally excellent, with action set pieces that benefit enormously from crisp camera work and efficient establishment of geography; techniques ripped straight from the playbooks of McTiernan and Cameron. It’s an exceptionally well cast film also, and the players smoothly modulate their performances.
Ultimately, however, The International can only be seen as a disappointment. With such compelling subject matter, one would think it would be relatively straightforward to create a film with some emotional oomph. What The Internaional does illustrate very clearly is that you can have what may appear on paper to be the perfectly thought out script, but it all comes to naught if the story doesn’t contain people that the audience actually care about. After all, at the end of the day the plot is simply what happens to the characters.
Check out the preview for The International below:
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Comment by MVD
Shame, really, as a geopolitical thriller with its claws in corporate conspiracy is frightenly relevant. Were Jason Statham not preoccupied filming Oscar-worthy (and gay baiting) performances in "Transporter 3," perhaps he could've added some dimension. Or at very least ripped apart his shirt for use as a weapon in an epic fight scene. .
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Cib, it's supposedly based very loosely on the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), which went down the sink in scandal in 1991. It had been involved in money laundering, the funding of terrorism and all sorts of shady stuff, apparently.
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight