Sony Pictures | 2010 | 103 mins. | PG-13
Given the screenplay for The Tourist, if this were the 1950’s, Alfred Hitchcock would have directed and Cary Grant and Grace Kelly would have starred. Then Hitch would have gone on to sell the improbable storyline in a way that only he could. Unfortunately, Hitchcock, Grant and Kelly have all passed away. Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others) lacks Hitchcock’s precision with genre. It should be said that The Tourist looks gorgeous throughout (credit at least in part goes to veteran cinematographer John Seale).Venice looks like one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie) is on the run. She is being watched by French police who are in communication with Scotland Yard and Inspector John Acheson (Paul Bettany). Apparently, Elise is seeing a highly wanted man named Alexander Pearce. Pearce has a note delivered to Elise´s table with getaway instructions inside. With little difficulty, she escapes onto a train traveling to Venice.
Elise takes a seat next to Frank (Johnny Depp), an American math teacher wandering Europe on vacation. Pearce´s instructions have directed Elise to find someone similar to his height and weight so the law enforcement trailing her will think it´s him. The magic of technology relays Frank´s photo to Acheson, and though he learns this isn´t his man, Elise lures Frank to her swanky hotel for a fancy dinner and drinks. It isn´t until later that a super wealthy Russian gangster named Shaw (Steven Berkoff) mistakes Frank for Pearce and sends his goons after him. Frank is smitten with the beautiful Elise, but unfortunately for him, he’s now garnering some of the attention previously reserved for her. It turns out that Elise’s lover Pearce owes the mobster several billion dollars and she has set up Frank as the fall guy. Or has she? Is she a femme fatale or a victim?
Jolie is perfectly cast as Elise. Strikingly beautiful, she has the look and attitude of a 1950’s screen siren. It’s almost as if she understands that her beauty is one of the best assets of the film. Johnny Depp, on the other hand, isn’t a great choice for Frank. While he’s a great actor, he has no Cary Grant type charisma. With his long locks, he doesn’t look like a romantic lead. His serious, low-key approach doesn’t work with the scripts over-the-top feel. The supporting cast is impressive, though Paul Bettany and Timothy Dalton (as a Scotland Yard inspector) aren’t given much to do. Bettany spends much of his screen time hiding inside a parked van performing surveillance. Steven Berkoff gets to snarl a few lines of dialogue as the heavy.
Frustratingly, The Tourist never really goes anywhere. There are all sorts of beautiful scenery and action scenes, but it doesn’t lead to anything meaningful. As pointless diversions go, The Tourist has some things going for it, but it’s not a particularly memorable film. Those who want Hitchcock are better with the real thing – pale imitations like this one merely emphasize how talented the legendary director was.
The 2.40:1 AVC encoded image is gorgeous. The image is clean and bright, with strong detail throughout. Darker scenes are well-rendered, with deep blacks and no compression artifacts.
The lossless DTS soundtrack mirrors the film image, offering a bright, warm track with a bit of directionality. The dialogue takes center stage and is well-mixed and clear.
We get the following special features:
- Audio Commentary: Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck delivers a solid commentary, discussing the film’s style, the importance of characterization, the small details that went into the crafting of the movie, the cast, technical aspects of the movie, and more.
- Canal Chats (1080p, 6:01): Cast and crew discuss the film and the shooting locales while riding through the waters of Venice.
- A Gala Affair (1080p, 7:12): A detailed look into the making of the film’s extravagant gala sequence.
- Action in Venice (1080p, 6:29): A look at the process of crafting one of the film’s key action scenes.
- Bringing Glamour Back (1080p, 9:08): Cast and crew talk up the film’s elegant façade.
- Tourist Destination — Travel the Canals of Venice (1080p, 3:17): Cast and crew discuss the beauty of the city.
- Alternate Animated Title Sequence (1080p, 2:14).
- Outtake Reel (1080p, 1:26).
- Previews: Additional Sony titles.
- MovieIQ.
- BD-Live.
