The Visitor (2008)
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Reviews Counted: 115
Fresh: 102 | Rotten: 13
The Visitor is a heartfelt, humanistic drama that deftly explores identity, immigration, and other major post-9/11 issues.
Average Rating: 7.7/10
Critic Reviews: 29
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 3
The Visitor is a heartfelt, humanistic drama that deftly explores identity, immigration, and other major post-9/11 issues.
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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 125,972
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Movie Info
A lonesome widower and college economics professor finds his mundane existence suddenly shaken up when he befriends a pair of illegal immigrants, one of whom has recently been threatened with deportation by U.S. immigration authorities, in the sophomore feature from The Station Agent director Tom McCarthy. Years after losing his wife, 62-year-old Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) has also lost his passion for writing and teaching. In an effort to fill the empty void that his life has become, Walter
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Cast
-
Richard Jenkins
Walter Vale -
Hiam Abbass
Mouna -
Haaz Sleiman
Tarek -
Danai Jekesai Gurira
Zainab -
Marian Seldes
Barbara -
Richard Kind
Jacob -
Michael Cumpsty
Charles -
Maggie Moore
Karen -
Bill McHenry
Darin -
Tzahi Moskovitz
Zev -
Amir Arison
Mr. Shah -
Neal Lerner
Martin Revere -
Ramón Fernández
Cop #1 -
Frank Pando
Cop #2 -
Waleed Zuaitor
Omar -
Deborah Rush
Upper Eastside Woman -
Ashley Springer
Student -
Laith Nakli
Nasim -
Jacqueline Brogman
Waiter -
Walter T. Mudu
Ronald Cole -
Yevgeniy Dekhtyar
Slavic Man -
Earl Baker Jr.
Lester James -
Walter the Dog
Sprinkles the Dog
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The Visitor Trailer & Photos
All Critics (116) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (105) | Rotten (14) | DVD (6)
At first glance Walter isn't a guy you want to spend two hours with. But by the end of the film, you don't want to see him go. Jenkins is like that: He sneaks up on you and steals your heart with light-fingered skill.
Top CriticThe Visitor is a tiny treasure of a movie. This is a wistful comedy that quickly finds its rhythm, but never lets that groove become a rut.
The Visitor is a small movie, but its emotions could not be writ any larger.
The film becomes less about the suffering of immigrants who have never enjoyed the embrace of Ellis Island than the righteous indignation of a liberal intelligentsia raging against its own powerlessness.
The story of Vale's revitalization and his grief is compelling but simple, free of any sentimentality, and marked by powerful performances from Jenkins and Hiam Abbass, who plays Mouna Khalil, Tarek's mother.
The script here is very strong.
First with The Station Agent and now with The Visitor, actor-turned-director Tom McCarthy has quickly proven himself a master of the delicately-observed social drama.
The Visitor gives Richard Jenkins a chance to develop a character for the whole running time.
Un retrato sutil y sensible sobre la inesperada conexión que se produce entre cuatro personas de diferentes culturas y orígenes, y también una postal algo desencantada y agridulce de la Nueva York posterior al 11/9. Destacable actuación protagónica de Ric
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Our patience with the characters' apathy and uninteresting demeanor is not rewarded enough.
An interesting examination of the unusual relationship between a bored college professor and an illegal immigrant. There are some thought-provoking discussions in the film patched periodically with rough spots.
Tasting the bitter fruits of globalization
Extras on this excellent disc include a full-length audio commentary by writer/ director Thomas McCarthy and actor Richard Jenkins and more.
The astonishing sensitivity with which Richard Jenkins approaches his role is nicely complimented by the performances of other cast members.
Its mushy humanism is...insidious.
The best movies are those that understand the human condition and have a personal vision. The Visitor is one of those rare creations. The Visitor is a parable of decency.
The not-so subliminal message about life being fair versus breaking the law isn't enough to carry a film purporting to be a character-driven drama.
Jenkins, as always has a quiet, almost apologetic hesitation to his performance that serves him well as Walter....a very sweet and gentle film.
A showcase role for otherwise supporting actor Richard Jenkins, and he makes the most of it without ever being showy.
Exactly the type of movie the GOP would rather Americans not see, as it individualizes (rather than demonizes) its foreign characters and provides them with a collective voice that demands to be heard.
A character study drowning in liberal guilt.
Audience Reviews for The Visitor
Super Reviewer
Based on that set up alone, you could easily just cast this movie off as another case of minority characters acting as an angelic force whose purpose is to help a down and out white, as well as yet again a film where a white man comes to the aid of minorities in need.
Why do that though? Especially when the way it's all handled (as is the case here) is done with care, intelligence, and an overhwelming sense of gentleness and sincerity (in good ways). The film does have typical elements to it, but it's well played, avoids being pandering (almost completely), and is aved by some terrific performances, especially that of Jenkins in a standout lead role.
Yeah, the film is uneven and all over the place with what it is trying to do, but it's never boring, has a lot fo heart, and could have been done a whole lot worse. Give it a go.
Super Reviewer
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- Tarek: She's a good muslim. I'm a bad one.
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- Mouna: This feels like Syria.
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- Walter Vale: We are not helpless children!
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Foreign Titles
- Ein Sommer in New York - The Visitor (DE)
