interpretations

so i went to the gym again today (yey me!) and tried to take it much easier - don't need to be achey for 3 days again! ;) i did 20 minutes on the cross trainer, but this time figured out how to set it for a manual session. see - i'm not a total git....

after an hour or so at the gym - i went to see a movie - i picked the interpreter with sean penn and nicole kidman. overall, it was a good film - but some of the dialogue really clunked - and it was pretty sad to see sean penn having to say quite a bit of that bad dialogue. the film was meant to be a sociopolitical thriller with a message of personal triumph over adversity. i think it could of been much better, but then again - it could of been much worse (like the manchurian candidate - which was largely unwatchable). basically nicole's character is the interpreter and she overhears a conversation in a fictional african dialect (called ku) where she just happened to grow up - and her parents and sisters were blown up by a landmine during one of the rebellions against the genocidal dictator at the time. (i'm guessing the fictional country is supposed to be rwanda or the sudan). the contents of that overheard conversation indicate that the president of that country will be assassinated.

anyway, long movie short - it seems as though the president of that country (can't remember the name! mubuto? not sure - sorry!) is coming to the UN to make some speach to try to legitimize his actions. sean penn's character is secret service & is assigned to shadow kidman's character and to prevent the assassination (to stop political fallout). there are many conversations between kidman and penn (most of the bad dialogue happens here) and at the end both characters help one another deliver themselves of some pretty significant personal demons.

the biggest thing i took away from the movie is that catherine keener is a kickass actress & everytime she was on the screen (as sean penn's partner in the secret service) i wanted more of her. she has such presence and a real bite! i think she might of been better in kidman's role. where kidman played her character with her typical ethereal presence - i think keener could of added some needed energy.

[music | david usher, "mutations"]