Movie Review of The Visitor
Writer-Director Tom McCarthy’s Heartfelt Film About Music
When a burned-out professor visits New York City for a conference, he never expects music to set his world on fire.
In The Visitor, Connecticut economics professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) seems to coast through life on automatic pilot. A reclusive widower, he tries unsuccessfully to master playing the piano, but is otherwise dispassionate about everything in his life, including his teaching career and the book he’s been writing.
A Trip to New York City
When 62-year-old Walter must cover for a colleague at a conference on economic growth in developing countries, he grudgingly travels to Manhattan where he owns an apartment he hasn’t visited since his wife died. Upon arrival, he discovers that a young Muslim couple (victim of a real estate scam) has been living there for two months.
At first, Syrian-born Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and his Senegalese girlfriend Zainab (Danai Gurira) agree to vacate immediately, but Walter relents and invites them to stay because they have nowhere else to go. As part of New York City’s international community, Zainab sells her exotic handmade jewelry in street markets and Tarek plays his African drums at jazz clubs. Meanwhile, Walter trudges off to his boring conference where he attends sessions and presents a paper that he didn’t actually write.
Musical Inspiration
In appreciation for letting them stay at his apartment, Tarek begins teaching Walter to play the drums, an instrument that surprisingly suits his repressed personality far better than the piano, which his late wife had played professionally. One day as Walter and Tarek are on their way to a drum circle in Central Park, Tarek gets arrested over a subway ticket misunderstanding that lands him in a detention center for illegal immigrants. When his charming mother (Hiam Abbass) arrives to find out what’s wrong, Walter finds himself as invigorated by Tarek’s mother as by Tarek’s music.
Nigerian composer and songwriter Fela Kuti served as the inspiration for most of the music in The Visitor. Fela created Afrobeat, a musical style that fuses elements from jazz, funk, and African song. In the film, Tarek models his drum patterns after Afrobeat.
Just as the music in The Visitor fuses different styles, the film itself provides a masterful blending of story, character, and music. The performances of the four main actors seem heartfelt, particularly with Jenkins who appears in virtually every scene. Each subtle facial expression and movement of his body reflect his inner struggle to hold onto the safety of his hollow existence even though it holds him back from fully enjoying life. This small film from writer-director Tom McCarthy has the look and feel of handmade art, much like a piece of Zainab’s jewelry.
- The Visitor
- Director: Tom McCarthy
- Run time: 108 minutes
- Rating: PG-13
For reviews of other dramatic films, read Movie Review of Married Life, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, and Things We Lost in the Fire.
