Tourist, The (3/22/2011)

Rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language.

Starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp

Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others)

What happens when you put two of Hollywood’s hottest actors together in a spy movie? Not a whole lot actually.

All the blame for The Tourist’s shortcomings can’t be placed solely on the shoulders of Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp — although they certainly do carry their fair share. There’s plenty to go around. Where to start? First, a little about the plot. It won’t take long, then we’ll get into where it all went so wrong.

The story is based on a little-seen 2005 French film called Anthony Zimmer (yeah, I looked it up). I haven’t seen it, but consensus holds that it’s a fun little 85-minute mystery filled with thrills and nerve-racking suspense. Sounds like it should have been a no-brainer to work with. But instead, co-writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck becomes so star-struck with his two leads, he fails to nurture any other parts of the film.

Not unlike Hitchcock’s North by Northwest — or any of the hundreds of other similarly plotted thrillers — the story is a classic tale of the innocent man who’s mistakenly pursued by mobsters and simultaneously blinded by a beautiful woman with less-than-kindly intentions. Johnny Depp is Frank Tupelo, an American tourist in Paris who finds himself in a seemingly random but ever-deliberate romantic encounter with British sophisticate, Elise (Jolie). Seems Elise is using Frank to put the Feds on his trail, rather than on her crooked lover, where they need to be. Soon these two are involved in a reckless romance that drags them through the breathtaking backdrop of Paris and Venice, before entangling them in a deadly game of cat and mouse between Interpol detectives and deadly mobsters. Sounds fun enough, right? Wrong.

It becomes evident fairly early on that this film is going to be a snoozer when Frank and Elise are seen in what should have been a harrowing high-speed boat chase through the bustling canals of Venice. But instead, it turns into a boring, slow-motion boat dragging event that never gets up enough speed to outrun the armed pursuers chasing them on foot. On foot!

Unfortunately, the two stars don’t seem to connect with their characters, leaving us unable to believe or imagine they belong together. Frank is the ultimate ordinary man, with some “awe shucks” charm. Elise is the glamorous heroine, always aware of her appearance. While there’s something to be said for a director who knows when to step back and let his veteran cast carry a film, there’s something else to be said if a director doesn’t realize when doing so isn’t working. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work for von Donnersmarck’s film, and he never realizes it.

Then there is the script that is so weak we never buy into…not for a single minute. Danger, suspense, and intrigue are all crucial elements in an effective thriller. But there’s no danger in The Tourist, as the bumbling police detectives constantly remind us that Frank must be taken alive. There’s no suspense either, because the ridiculous “twist” is spotted so early on we’re left shaking our head when the end finally arrives.

There is really no good reason to see it…unless it’s free.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
It is rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language, but there is also a scene where Jolie strips down to her underwear.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

Q: What’s the message/theme of this movie?
A: Throughout the film we don’t know if the characters are really who they say they are. They mislead and lie at every turn.

Q: How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
A: As Christians not only should we not lie about who we are, in fact we need to have a good understanding of who we are in Christ.

In Psalm 139:14 it says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

The Bible tells us that we are made by God! The question is do you view your life as a creation of God? Do you believe that you are a wonderful creation of the Most High, as the Bible tells us?

Not only are we made by God, but when we trust in Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are called God’s child (John 1:12). We need to live in light of this fact.

Q: How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
A: There is a fantastic agenda on our website called “Who Am I”. In this agenda you take a $20 bill and ask your student/child if they would like the $20.00. After they say YES, crumple the $20 bill and ask them, “Would you still like it?” Wait for them to say they would still take it then ask, “What if I do this,” (while dropping it on the floor and grinding it down into the floor with your shoe.) “Now would you still like it?” Now tell your student/child that they have learned a valuable lesson. No matter what you did to the money, they still wanted to have it because it didn’t lose its value; it was still worth $20. Go on to share that many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless; but no matter what happened or what will happen, each one of us will never lose our value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, each of us is still priceless to those who love us. The worth in our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but in who we are. You are special – don’t ever forget it!

God has created each of us to be unique – “a one of a kind” masterpiece! You have tremendous value.