Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Tourist

Not a great trip.By John DeSando, "It's Movie Time," "Cinema Classics," and "On the Marquee"

Elise (Angelina Jolie): It's gone too far.

Yes, our cinematic love affair with Angelina Jolie has gone too far. Most of the shots in The Tourist are either close-ups of her or high angle shots of Venice, neither technique original or commendable given how lazy an emphasis on either is for a serious filmmaker.

This flimsy thriller is Hitchcock in spirit?mysterious lady on a train, mistaken identity of a handsome man, inept cops, and plot twist you could see coming like that train before it stops at the station. But it's not Hitch-worthy?it's low-rent suspense that relies on whether or not they Elise (Jolie) and Frank (Johnny Depp) will hit the bed together and he's actually the crook everyone is looking for. Even the financial crime the propels the plot is ludicrous given Bernie Madoff's excess.

The overarching technique in this loss of time is the Jolie close-up, an insult like the plot to an audience that could well cry out?"Enough!" I know--the camera loves George Clooney as well, but usually he tries to act and have something smart to say. (See his thriller, The American.) Jolie preens while underplaying her love with a man everyone wants: Alexander Pierce. Depp's community college math prof is mistaken for him.

No, it's all not even close to North by Northwest with a climax and denouement another insult to any audience that wanted smart in a movie and got dumb.

The title says it all: Tour Venice and Jolie's face. Otherwise pick any Hitchcock for a more satisfying vacation.

John DeSando co-hosts It's Movie Time, Cinema Classics, and On the Marquee for WCBE 90.5. The shows can be heard streaming at http://publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/ppr/index.shtml and on demand at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/arts.artsmain Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.RR.com