This was one of the best movies I have seen in a while and I would go as far to say that hugo weaving done the best acting I had ever seen in a movie, he was that believeable (his character), any ways this movie isn't mainstream and a lot of people hasn't heard of it but If you haven't seen it you need to check it out, its a good movie
shareI agree this is a great psychological thriller. The ending is great and Hugo Weaving is brilliant.
shareAgreed. I've seen quite a few people talking about Weaving being a bad actor, simply because his roles in LOTR & Matrix aren't deep and he doesn't really have any space to show superb acting skills. This movie shows that they're wrong, Weaving did an excellent job acting the clever, *innocent* man. Movie keeps its interest thru the whole movie and as said, has a great ending. Worth a watch definately.
shareNo argument here, though anyone who calls Hugo Weaving a "bad actor" to my face had better have their health insurance paid up...I loved his performances in the Matrix and Rings trilogies (and I'm probably the only person on earth who watched 9-odd hours of LOTR because HE was in it...)This, and Proof, show what he's really capable of though. One thing I dislike about the DVD, much as I love it overall, is that it contains the deleted ending (spoiler ahead) that Fleming is guilty, and Steele about to catch him in the act. The director acknowledges it's "rubbish" and was shot to soothe the financers who sought a paint-by-numbers solution. But I wish I hadn't seen it. The film is brilliantly complete in its theatrical format. My opinion about Fleming's degree of guilt or innocence has changed somewhat each time I see it. (I imagine most other Americans think he's guilty and that Detective Steele did nothing particularly wrong in confronting him. In America, he'd probably have been convicted despite the slender physical evidence and "confession" that at times sounds made up.) Could go on endlessly about the film but won't unless someone else wants to start a discussion.
shareI will also agree to all of the above. I only own it on VHS though-in fact I didnt even realize that with as unheard-of as this movie is, that it would even be on DVD. Its actually been a while since Ive seen it so I cant remember what the actual conclusion was, but I love movies where there is a minimal cast, great acting, and dialogue intensive.
Proof is also very good, although I am not a huge fan of Crowe, but it was cool hearing him in his native tongue. Hugo Weaving I think is a great actor (actually I didnt even know he was in the LOTR movies-Ive seen them all, but I was highly caffeinated for the, ahem, events just so I could get through them)
For those of you that like this movie, may I recommend a similar movie starring Gerard Depardieu and Roman Polanski called A Pure Formality. I consider The Interview to be a slight notch above APF, but its also a great film that I think you guys would enjoy + it would be cool to hear the comparisons between them (I sadly dont own that one though)
I hope I didn't ruin the film for anyone by giving away the "deleted ending", which, again, I hate. Won't tell you about the proper (theatrical/VHS) ending, apart from it's brilliant and chilling. The DVD pops up on Ebay periodically and is widely available, very affordable. I originally had this on VHS too, but "upgraded" to DVD. It's worth it for Craig Monahan's involving director commentary, a few deleted scenes that show how astute a director he is (the film is better without them) and interview footage of Hugo Weaving and Tony Martin (who played Detective Steele.) I'd skip the alternate ending but overall it's a good package. And it allowed me to pass on my VHS to a friend, and build awareness of the film.
Haven't heard of the film A Pure Formality, but will look out for it. So refreshing to find someone who DOESN'T knee-jerk compare The Interview to The Usual Suspects. I love both films, but The Interview is less fanciful, more claustrophobic and ambiguous.
Finally someone else who prefers Hugo Weaving to Russell Crowe! I think Crowe is a good enough actor, but a lot of his Hollywood work doesn't do much for me. Weaving's role in Lord of the Rings was minor. (He played the Liv Tyler character's father.) I enjoyed those films, but prefer character driven films like The Interview. This means that a lot of Weaving's work is hard to find, but worth the hunt.
Agreed, The Interview is a great little movie and deserves to be ranked higher. However it was all too a little "Usual Suspects" for me, but if you're going to do some thievin' might as well steal from the best right? :)
shareThe Interview is a MUCH better movie than The Usual Suspects, in my humble opinion.
share>>>> So refreshing to find someone who DOESN'T knee-jerk compare The Interview to The Usual Suspects. I love both films, but The Interview is less fanciful, more claustrophobic and ambiguous.
Wow, never even entered my head that the two films could be compared or even thought of as similar!
Just watched it again today for the second time ever and saw the alt ending for the first time.
I'm not a big fan of "happy endings" or even "endings" and like movies that DON'T :)
I must admit that I did like the alt ending though as, for me, it WASNT and "alternate" ending anway.
I remain convinced that he is/was guilty though I look forward to watching it again to see if I stay that way :)
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I hope I didn't ruin the film for anyone by giving away the "deleted ending", which, again, I hate.
"Worth a watch definately."
That's "definitely".
Hugo Weaving is believable in this movie. I mean, he makes his character believable in a way that I have never seen in a movie before or after. It is incredible, especially considering how complicated his character role really is here - it's a character that's actually pretending to be something he's not - and then revealing his true self, and then going back to pretending, and finally back to the real self again.
This is one of the cases where the word 'brilliant' is not an exaggaration - this kind of words are suffering an inflation these days, they are all so over-used. But using that word for Hugos acting is only truthful.
It's hard to imagine any "Hollywood regular" in his place.
Re the deleted "ending", in the DVD commentary, Craig Monahan admits it's "crap" and says he was pressured by the financers to film it. It completely destroys the tension and brilliant ambiguity of the rest of the film and Monahan was right to leave it out. If you only take the film itself into consideration, you can draw any number of conclusions. I've seen the film five times and see new details or nuances every time I watch it. It's criminal that it took Monahan seven years to get the financing and distribution to make another film (Peaches), and that film has only been seen in Australia. When is this director going to get the respect he deserves?
BTW I wish I'd been encouraged to watch films this good in school. :)
What a great movie... I would have to agree, Weaving and Martin gave one of the best acting performances I've seen.
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I agree -it was a magnificent film. I wish there had been subtitles because at critical times I had a little trouble with the dialects.
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I saw this in year 10 for English class back in 1999. I really enjoyed it, but I've always enjoyed psychological thrillers. The Interview is one of the few good Aussie movies out there!
shareAgree, superb acting and beautifully shot (yeah all you shaky camers: look at this one and learn from it!)
The score was also great!
I agree, although I would say that the acting of BOTH Weaving and Tony Martin was terrific, the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. They each fed off the other and both chewed the scenery to bits.
Funny, when it was done I sort of thought of a cross between "The Exorcist" and "Usual Suspects". Certainly, as others have noted, the next to last scene with Fleming striding down the street towards the camera, was almost right out of the end of the latter, but the scene in which Steele is in the bathroom rinsing his face off and looking exhausted sort of reminded me of the priests (Merrin and Karas) at the end of the former and their marathon struggle with the Devil.
I also DID wonder a bit about the fact that Fleming could not possibly have known that the sessions were being videotaped (as well as audio recordings being made), and it's not clear to me how readily he would have been released if that were not the case.
But, again, an absolutely riveting experience.
I agree, although I would say that the acting of BOTH Weaving and Tony Martin was terrific, the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. They each fed off the other and both chewed the scenery to bits.
Funny, when it was done I sort of thought of a cross between "The Exorcist" and "Usual Suspects". Certainly, as others have noted, the next to last scene with Fleming striding down the street towards the camera, was almost right out of the end of the latter, but the scene in which Steele is in the bathroom rinsing his face off and looking exhausted sort of reminded me of the priests (Merrin and Karas) at the end of the former and their marathon struggle with the Devil.
I also DID wonder a bit about the fact that Fleming could not possibly have known that the sessions were being videotaped (as well as audio recordings being made), and it's not clear to me how readily he would have been released if that were not the case.
But, again, an absolutely riveting experience.