Interpreter
Veteran director Sydney Pollack tackles contemporary international intrigues in this political thriller about a UN interpreter (Nicole Kidman) who claims to have overheard an assassination plot, and the Secret Service agent (Sean Penn) who's assigned to protect her. Composer James Newton Howard (a 2004 Academy Award nominee for his haunting score to M. Night Shyamalan's otherwise disappointingThe Village) conjures up a brooding, mostly orchestral score that eschews traditional melodic motifs in favor of an often sophisticated musical tapestry of mood and tension. His soundtrack's dark corners are leavened by flashes of tribal drums and ethnic modalities that emanate from the plot's African concerns, yet Howard's music is primarily modern. It's not above some obligatory stem-winding and occasional flashes of McAction Film bombast, but overall it’s a crafty evocation of mood and suspense from one of Hollywood's most consistently compelling musical talents.--Jerry McCulley