Interview
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Rated: R
Cast: Steve Buscemi, Sienna Miller
Director: Steve Buscemi
WorkNameSort: Interview
Our Rating: 3.00
Steve Buscemi wrote, directed and starred in this remake of Dutch director Theo Van Gogh’s 2003 original. Buscemi plays a mildly disgraced political writer who’s being forced to write a puff piece on an actress known only as Katya. As portrayed by Sienna Miller, Katya is slightly schizo, sexually forward and completely self-involved. The original interview session goes poorly as neither party is remotely interested in what the other has to say, but a turn of events leads the two back to Katya’s loft apartment. There, the conflicted couple tease, taunt and torment each other, pointing out foibles and faults, admitting mistakes and generally creating an uncomfortable level of sexual tension that’s neither romantic nor pleasant to watch. Buscemi and Miller do a remarkable job of inhabiting their characters, rendering them in measures both sympathetic and distasteful; the dialogue flows in such a natural manner that it’s difficult to tell how much was actually scripted. Buscemi the director, however, has some shortcomings. Most of the film’s action takes place within the wide spaces of Katya’s loft, leading to an atmosphere that’s both static and disorienting. Also, Buscemi’s pacing is inconsistent; one moment, the two are engaged in an invigorating and heated back-and-forth and then, suddenly, Katya’s alone in the bathroom, blowing a line. While such erratic behavior does much to underline the character’s capriciousness, it makes for a bumpy cinematic ride. Forgiving those minor faults ‘ and assuming the suspension of disbelief required to accept that Sienna Miller would ever look at a schlub like Buscemi and demand that he kiss her ‘ Buscemi’s Interview achieves a realism and intensity that Van Gogh’s original never quite managed. Considering that Van Gogh’s stars were, in real life, the ‘charactersâ?� they were portraying, Buscemi and Miller should be roundly praised for the acting chops they display in this thriller.
This article appears in Aug 15-21, 2007.