'Chemistry' is one of the favourite buzz words used by studios when pushing the publicity for their latest ‘his and hers’ star vehicle. This is not without good reason, the ability of the stars of a film to convince audiences that they genuinely want to tear each other’s clothes off can make or break a film. Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca, McQueen and Dunaway in The Thomas Crown Affair, and Hepburn and Peck in Roman Holiday, when a couple click on film the screen sizzles and audiences are captivated. However when it doesn’t work it can be painfully uncomfortable to watch. So it is with some curiosity that the audiences receive the new thriller The Tourist, featuring the first time pairing of two of modern Hollywood’s most beautiful people, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. The question is will they sizzle or fizzle?
Jolie plays Elise, a mysterious British woman in Paris, pursued by Interpol and the police because of her connection to her ex lover, a wanted man who has disappeared with a substantial amount of money belonging to Steven Berkoff’s psychotic gangster. Whilst fleeing by train to Venice she encounters Depp’s American tourist, Frank, and seduces him so that she may use him as a dupe to throw the gangsters and the law off of the trail of her lover. Frank is unable to resist Elise’s charms and soon finds himself on the run due to a case of mistaken identity. As the walls of Venice begin to close in on them both Frank and Elise must question their loyalties and decide what part love can play in a world where no one can be trusted.
This is writer/director Florian Henckel Von Donnersmark’s follow up to the fantastic The Lives of Others and is clearly an attempt for him to make the move from German independent cinema to mainstream Hollywood. On paper The Tourist looks like a no brainer, two of Hollywood’s biggest stars lock lips and look gorgeous whilst leaping over rooftops and having boat chases in one of the most beautiful locations on the planet. But sadly the film fails to deliver on its promise, it tries too hard to mimic Hitchcock without ever reaching the level of brilliance of a film like North by Northwest, the tension is never truly allowed to build and everything feels too safe. Depp is as likable as ever as Frank, adding a level of vulnerability to the role that other actors would fail to do, whereas Jolie speaks in an awful English accent and floats through the film with all the presence of a thunderbird. The two do share a degree of the much vaunted chemistry engaging in some wonderfully written word play, but like the many twists in the film it all feels a little too contrived. Like its two leads The Tourist is very nice to look at, it’s beautifully shot and features exquisite locations and wardrobes but this just isn’t enough to stop you feeling a little unsatisfied once the credits roll.
Review by Elliot Hyams
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