A Welcome Message and "The Visitor" Review

Introduction

Hello everyone! Welcome to the blog of me and my best friend, Bretty. We’re pretty excited to finally get this thing started, considering we’ve been talking about it for about a year and a half already. We both consider ourselves film buffs, Bretty majored in cinema studies at NYU, as did I (albeit unofficially, though I took enough coursework to satisfy the requirements for a film major). Not only that, but we’re hardcore food junkies: I’m Italian and I used to be obese (baby, I know my food!). I’m also interested in communications and journalism (as is Signor Bretty), so we hope to be uploading some videos of our commentary as well. So why call this blog “dinner and a movie”? Well, essentially, both Bretty and I will go out to dinner together and catch a flick (though this first one won’t have a restaurant review included, since I was away in Italy—we were apart for a year, gasp!) and provide a review for all of you! I think as a pre-warning, some of these reviews may contain some spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the film already, readers beware! Also, myself nor Bretty is going to review the entire movie, but only indicate certain elements that made the movie great. Plus, we are two people, so we can pretty much divide the work in half. I feel these reviews are the most successful for you guys if you have already seen the movie anyway, since we may refer to an event that happened without having to explain too much of plot.

Being that this is my first entry, I think first and foremost I should clarify what makes a “good” movie for me—since this term is tossed around far too much. Personally, I differentiate this term from an “enjoyable,” “funny,” or even “cute” movie (though not mutually exclusive, let’s be real here). I think there are many components that make a movie “good”—even “great,” such as a great character arc (think of Casablanca where we have the main character, Rick, go from a self-centered and egotistical bastard to selfless in realizing his passionate love for Elsa, only to give her up for a greater good), intriguing plot, flawless acting, good writing, etc.; as you can see, there are many. But what is really going to set one movie apart from the next?

For me the most important part of a “good” movie (or “classic,” if you will) is that it needs to haunt me. I don’t mean in the sense of a horror movie where you’re scared the entire night, thinking something is perpetually watching you. I mean in the sense that you’re constantly thinking about it. The movie has become memorable for you. Maybe it touches you in some way, perhaps you relate it to your life, or maybe you just thought the film itself was brilliant, but for some reason you can’t seem to shake it. You could be eating breakfast and still you’re thinking about so-and-so’s actions or how the film turned out. Maybe the ending just didn’t suit the brilliance the rest of the film showcased. Either way, it stays with you. That, my friends, is genius, and is a daunting task for any filmmaker to reproduce in his/her audience, though in reality it is their ultimate goal.

The Visitor Review

I have to admit The Visitor was a recommendation by Bretty, so I naturally had high hopes for it (since we typically have similar tastes in films)—didn’t think it would actually exceed these expectations!

We start off with a somewhat elderly man (Walter Vale), clearly jaded, attempting to learn the piano. We don’t find out until later why he’s been pursuing this instrument: he’s trying to fill the void in his life from the death of his wife, who used to play beautiful music to the piano. He loves the sounds it produces (hence his passion for classical music), but still cannot seem to get the hang of it, seen by his firing yet another teacher right in the opening scene.

Cut to another scene of Walter’s disinterest trickling down to his profession: he’s a professor. The brilliance of this film is not in the professor outwardly stating “I hate my career” or “I am miserable.” That’s obviously not a very effective writing device. The movie shows us this attitude. While Walter is busy changing an old syllabus from a few years ago to a current one by simply whiting out the older date, a student interrupts him, claiming a family emergency for his paper not being handed in on time. Walter does not even hear the explanation or keep him any further in his office (while the student reminds him about the late syllabus they still have not received), but tells him that he must take a zero on the assignment. The Dean later reminds Walter about a book presentation he must go to at NYU (represent!) since his colleague who assisted in writing will be unable to attend, but Vale confesses his lack of interest and participation in the actual writing and publication of the book, however he reluctantly accepts the time off in New York, since it is imperative that he attends. So, here, right from the very beginning, the film establishes a man who is dissatisfied with his life (the loss of his wife) and his career (being a professor). A bleak film, ah, just what I love! Seriously, it’s one of my favorite genres (it’s obviously not even considered a genre…but it should be, damnit!).

As the film develops, these elements are developed even further, brought out through the meeting of two strangers (a couple, one Muslim named Tarek, the other Zanaib from Africa), who have unknowingly rented his apartment through someone else. Out of desperation, sheer will for companionship, or even a bit of pity, he offers to the couple to stay with him…and that’s where the film really gets interesting.

Through the interaction between the professor and the ‘visitor’ in his apartment, we see the change that he goes through (a brilliant character arc, may I add). We started off with a mild-mannered, quiet, boring, and jaded professor who goes to a passionate lover of music, a good friend, and selfless man. Tarek and Walter naturally start off just tolerating each other since they are forced roomies. Out of gratitude for letting him and his girlfriend stay in his apartment, Tarek gives the professor a chance by inviting him to his drum concert (to the chagrin of his girlfriend, who finds him relentlessly dull). Walter is enchanted by the sound of Tarek’s drumming and eventually the two bond over the playing of the drums together (though that is simply putting it, you really need to watch the movie to see the progression of this relationship).

I think I should add how grateful I was that the movie didn’t go in one particular direction: a lame love story between Zanaib and Walter. Can we just say all together how many times we’ve seen this happen? Oh, Tarek is off playing his drums at shows and Zanaib is left all alone with Walter. And even though she hates him, eventually they will hit it off and have an affair, fall in love, blah blah blah. It’s so over-done at this point, and I’m incredibly happy the movie went towards the “bromance” instead of an actual romance (though there was another romance developed that was effective). It pleasantly surprised me—I certainly did not see that coming, I must admit.

The most brilliant scene in the film by far is the outcry by Walter in the scene where Tarek gets deported. The officer at the Immigration Center is not concerned about other people’s feelings, just mindlessly and jadedly doing his job, telling Walter nonchalantly that his dear friend has been deported. Wait, this should sound familiar to us…exactly! It’s a direct reminder to the audience of the way the professor used to be! Recall the opening scene where the professor dismisses the student without any compassion? Just mindlessly doing his job? He simply just doesn’t care? Brilliant! (This writing device is called “resonance,” where the viewer either consciously or subconsciously recognizes an element that was established previously in the film that is brought back again). This, for me, is exactly where the film derives part of its power from; it happens in other scenes as well, particularly the ending. Anyway, Walter explodes at the officer as his anger and desperation surge, yelling at him that it’s just not fair, that Tarek was innocent in the first place, he’s a human being, etc. How could we ever have pictured the man we saw at the beginning of the film (the meek professor calmly sitting behind his desk) to deliver such a powerful and emotional speech towards the end? The character development of Walter seen throughout this film was absolutely flawless and should be applauded as one of the best character arcs I have seen in a while.

Final Rating: 9.5

I found it to be an excellent movie, well-thought out, and executed brilliantly! Great acting, perfect character development, and a unique plot. Fantastic resonance in several scenes. Best movie of the year, hands down.

And now I leave Bretty to fill in the rest—because there’s a lot here that makes this film great that I didn’t want to tackle on in one review, especially because this has gotten a bit lengthy. We’ll see his take now on The Visitor, hopefully more about the romance that does develop and the ending…