GENOA,
Italy – Is there anything better than sitting in a comfortable cinema
seat with popcorn in your hands while outside it is cold and stormy?
Something better is, or what should be better, is when the stars of the movie you are going to watch are Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.
The
Tourist is
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s latest movie, mainly shot in Venice,
which is another reason I trusted the actors and went to watch it
without even reading the plot.
It is
the story of Frank (Johnny Depp), an American man who meets a beautiful,
mysterious woman called Elise (Angelina Jolie) on a train to Venice.
Frank
falls in love with Elise, but he soon gets trapped in a spiral of
violence and intrigue which nearly kills him.
The
ingredients are those typical of the thriller-spy movie: we have the
police, the beautiful woman who hides her real identity and her
connections with the police and the criminals, we of course have the
criminal – and the bad, fat, scary gangster who tries to kill everybody
and, in the end, never succeeds.
The
Tourist has
nothing new or remarkable.
The
ending, which is thought to be surprising, is instead boring and
unlikely. The plot itself is weak.
Depp and
Jolie’s performances are the only things which prevent you from yawning,
even if these can’t be considered their best.
If you
were expecting more from the director of The
Lives of Others, you will be disappointed, but if you are planning
to visit Venice, at least The
Tourist won’t make you
change your mind.
