The Visitor. Out tomorrow. (**********10/10)
The best DVD movie this week is coming out October 7th from Alliance Films. The Visitor is a magnificent film, starring Richard Jenkins as a lonely man whose wife has died. He comes home to his New York City apartment he hasn’t visited in almost a year. When he walks in, he finds an illegal immigrant couple living in his home. The man (Haaz Sleiman) is from Syria, his girlfriend (Danai Gurira) is from Senegal. Instead of giving them the boot, he allows them to stay until they can find a place of their own, and they quickly become friends, bonding through music.
Now, many movies have been made about lonely old men who encounters some kind of free-spirited people and has a rebirth. And some of them (like Venus, last year) have been very good. Others have really sucked. The Visitor might well be the best of them all. The three lead actors are absolutely flawless, especially Jenkins. He is receiving a considerable amount of Oscar buzz for this film, and deservedly so. He is terrifically understated and amazingly realistic. Sleiman is wonderful as the Syrian immigrant Tarek, full of joy and vitality. Gurira plays Zainab, his girlfriend, with more restraint and caution, but with a tenderness and love for her boyfriend that leaps off the screen. I know, that sounds lame. But it isn’t. Nothing in this movie is lame. It is all amazing.
Every scene rings true. Every action by every character is understated and vividly real. And before you know it, this movie has sucked you in completely. It’s a small film. A modest film. And an absolutely wonderful film. It’s pretty rare that a movie can be both life-affirming and heartbreaking at the same time, but The Visitor does both, and it does them well. This film provides masterful acting, joy, romance, and a powerful message, all wrapped up in one of the best movies of the year. Do yourself a big favour, and rent this one today.