A ‘Reel Son’: The Visitor a perfect movie for today

Written by Garrett Schumann
Thursday, 07 August 2008 10:41

For several years, Garrett Schumann contributed film reviews as part of the “Take Two” father-and-sons movie reviewer team. This week, his father Mark, “the Reel Dad,” steps aside to bring Garrett back to the column for a guest appearance.

In a time when moviegoers must contend with hit-and-miss, grandiose filmmakers like Michael Bay and Oliver Stone, The Visitor proves that a movie’s power is not related to the size of its budget or the names of the actors in its cast. In fact, The Visitor’s compelling narrative is successful because the film is so far from being over-the-top, it is absolutely believable.

Of course, even though The Visitor doesn’t have a sappy love scene, or high-speed chase, it is incredibly engaging and thought-provoking and feels refreshing to watch because it targets the audience’s mind and conscience, not eyes and hormones. The story of The Visitor could not be more relevant to our present day. It is made even more powerful because the conflict the main characters encounter comes by them by absolute chance.

Richard Jenkins is magnificent as Walter Vale, a discontented economics professor at New London’s own Connecticut College. Vale is a widower of a few years (the cause of his wife’s death is never revealed), who goes to New York City by chance to substitute as a presenter at an economics conference. In doing so, he meets an immigrant couple that has been illegally renting his seldom-used apartment, but he continues to let them live in the apartment until they can find another place to live. Trouble befalls the couple and Vale finds himself giving his greatest efforts to help them, because he finally has something to believe in after years of being lonely and unhappy with his work.

This is Jenkins’ first real leading role, despite decades of work in Hollywood (I’m sure you will recognize him), and he pulls it off beautifully. One of the most impressive elements is how he learns to play the djembe, a West African drum, at a high level. In fact, music plays an important role in the story. Vale’s deceased wife was a concert pianist whose recordings he listens to religiously, and whose legacy he tries to honor with an unsuccessful attempt at learning the piano. Tarek (Haaz Sleiman), the man Walter finds living in his apartment with his girlfriend, is a professional djembe player and teaches Walter the instrument. By the end of the movie, Walter’s instrument of choice is undeniably the djembe, as we see him tapping our rhythms during meetings and blasting African drum music in his Connecticut home. The growth we see in Walter’s musicianship is endearing because it represents a second chance at honoring his late wife, and is the strong foundation for his friendship with Tarek.

The Visitor executes its narrative with perfection that is unseen in most of the movies released today. There are no accommodations made for commercial reasons, no pop songs thrown in over the end credits. It is a simple movie that tackles important issues in a way that makes you wonder what you would do if you were in the position of the main characters.

 

Video Pick

Looking for something to rent? Here is a suggestion inspired by The Visitor:
JFK: I know I knocked Oliver Stone at the beginning of the review, and that these two films could not be more different in terms of star power and production value. Nevertheless, they are both heartfelt exposés on political issues whose implications on our freedoms could not be more important to discuss. I think you could also see the connection between these movies if you watched them in close succession.

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