Film Review: The Visitor (2008)

Grade: A-

I really hate to be another snobby critic that bashes mainstream blockbusters, instead choosing for the marginal indie films. But how can I resist when The Visitor chooses to show, not tell; when The Visitor relies on its silence and its reality instead of the booms and bangs, when The Visitor shocks you in the way that Wanted could only fantasize about.

The characters evolve and change. Good (people) and evil (institutions) are at war. Love is in every scene, but "love" is never uttered or expressed in kisses. Emotions are never overacted or underacted. In fact, you barely you feel like you're in a movie; more like you're getting an inside look to a man's chance encounter with another man.

So here's the quick rundown: Enter grumpy, uncultured, white man. Man returns to NYC home. Enter homeless illegal couple who have been living in man's home. Awkward. Man feels pity. They live together. They bond. Someone gets arrested. Someone fears deportation. Man fights for his new friend.

The Visitor hits home because it never tries to do too much. It allows common life experiences that causes common human emotions and common human reactions to carry through till the end credits.

And the ending? Perfectly imperfect. Translation -- it feels real.