The Tourist (2010 film)

The Tourist
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Screenplay by	Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Christopher McQuarrie Julian Fellowes
Based on	Anthony Zimmer by Jérôme Salle
Produced by	Graham King Timothy Headington Roger Birnbaum Gary Barber Jonathan Glickman
Starring	Angelina Jolie Johnny Depp Paul Bettany Timothy Dalton Steven Berkoff Rufus Sewell Christian De Sica
Cinematography	John Seale
Edited by	Joe Hutshing Patricia Rommel
Music by	James Newton Howard
Production companies	Columbia Pictures GK Films Spyglass Entertainment StudioCanal
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date	December 10, 2010 (2010-12-10)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$100 million[1]
Box office	$278.3 million[2]

The Tourist is a 2010 American romantic thriller film co-written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and starring Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, and Timothy Dalton. It is a remake of the 2005 French film Anthony Zimmer. GK Films financed and produced the film, with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions releasing it in most countries through Columbia Pictures.^[3] The $100 million budget film went on to gross $278 million at the worldwide box office.^[2]

Despite negative reception from the critics, the film was nominated for three Golden Globes, with a debate arising over the question as to whether it was a comedy or a drama. Henckel von Donnersmarck repeatedly stated it was neither genre, calling it "a travel romance with thriller elements," but that if he had to choose between the two, he would choose comedy.^[4]

Plot[]

A British woman, Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie), is being followed through downtown Paris by French police who are working with Scotland Yard under the direction of Inspector John Acheson (Paul Bettany). Acheson has spent years hunting Alexander Pearce, Elise's lover, who owes £744 million in back taxes, and is believed to have received plastic surgery to alter his appearance. He is also being hunted by Reginald Shaw (Steven Berkoff), a mobster from whom Pearce stole $2.3 billion. At a Parisian cafe, Elise receives written instructions from Pearce: board the train to Venice, Italy; pick out a man; and let the police believe that he is Pearce. Elise burns the note, evades the police, and boards the train.

On the train, Elise selects Frank Tupelo (Johnny Depp), a mathematics teacher from a community college in Wisconsin. Acheson salvages information about the plan from the remains of the burned note. Aware of her location, but not of the ruse, a policeman on Shaw's payroll alerts Shaw that Pearce is on the train to Venice with Elise. Shaw immediately proceeds to Venice.

Elise invites Frank to stay with her at the Hotel Danieli in Venice. Pearce leaves instructions for Elise to attend a ball. Elise abandons Frank, who is chased by Shaw's men. While trying to escape, Frank is detained by the Italian police. A corrupt inspector turns him over to Shaw's men for a bounty. Elise rescues Frank just before he is handed over, leading Shaw's men on an extended boat chase, before finally escaping. She leaves Frank at the airport with his passport and money, urging him to go home for his own safety.

Elise is revealed to be an undercover Scotland Yard agent who was under suspension for her suspected sympathies with Pearce. She agrees to participate in a sting operation to bring Pearce to justice. At the ball, as Elise tries to find Pearce, a man places an envelope on her table and disappears into the crowd. She tries to follow him but is stopped by Frank, who claims to be in love with her and invites her to dance. The police arrive and take Frank into protective custody. Elise reads the note and leaves in her boat, tailed by Shaw. Both parties are followed by the police.

When Elise lands, Shaw takes her hostage, threatening to harm her unless she reveals the location of a hidden safe where Pearce is keeping the stolen money. The police monitor the situation via hidden cameras. Acheson repeatedly refuses to allow Italian police snipers to intervene to rescue Elise. While the police are occupied in monitoring the situation, Frank escapes and confronts Shaw, claiming to be Pearce and offering to open the safe if Elise is allowed to leave. Shaw tells Frank to open the safe or he will have Elise tortured. Chief Inspector Jones arrives at the police stake-out, overrides Acheson, and orders the snipers to fire, killing Shaw and his men. To Elise's obvious pleasure, Jones lifts her suspension and fires her.

Acheson receives a message that Pearce has been found nearby. On arrival, he learns the police have detained an Englishman. The man says he is only a tourist being paid to follow instructions and is not Pearce. Elise tells Frank that she loves him, but she also loves Pearce. Frank opens the safe by entering the correct code, revealing that he was Alexander Pearce all along.

When the police come back and open the safe they find one cheque for £744 million. Acheson prepares to pursue Pearce, but since the taxes are now paid, Jones closes the case. Pearce and Elise sail away together.

Cast[]

Production[]

The project went through a number of directorial and cast changes. Originally the film was set with Lasse Hallström, with Charlize Theron to play the lead. But Hallström left, allegedly over scheduling conflicts. Bharat Nalluri then came on, as did Tom Cruise, who was later replaced by Sam Worthington. When Jolie accepted her role, so did director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, but he left citing "creative differences" along with Worthington. After many names were considered, including Alfonso Cuarón, Henckel von Donnersmarck returned, re-wrote the script in two weeks, and shot the film in 58 days (including 2nd unit days), with Johnny Depp taking the lead.^{[citation needed]}

Henckel von Donnersmarck was assisted by stunt coordinator Simon Crane who devised the boat action sequence. In the DVD director's commentary, Henckel von Donnersmarck recounts that the film's one action sequence was devised by Simon Crane to allow for the speed limitations imposed on boats in Venice. This speed limit was strictly enforced by the Venetian authorities and there was a policeman on set at all times to make sure no wave movement would let the pillars (on which the palazzi are built) be exposed to oxygen. Henckel von Donnersmarck and Crane felt that if one boat was towing the other, this could perhaps be a realistic reason for a slow speed chase.^{[citation needed]}

Filming began in Paris with Jolie on February 23, 2010^[5] and moved to Venice where Depp joined the production on March 1.

The whole film was made in only a little over 11 months, counting from the day Henckel von Donnersmarck came on board to re-write and direct to the day of the premiere in New York. The film had to be shot so quickly because Depp had to leave for Hawaii to start filming the fourth film of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The reason post-production had to happen so quickly was because all commercially interesting release dates in 2011 were reserved for the potential start of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

French Minister of Culture Frédéric Mitterrand visited Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck on the set of The Tourist, Place Colette.^[6]

Themes[]

Janus symbolism[]

The film repeatedly uses symbolism revolving around the Roman god Janus.^[7][8]

At a dinner in Venice, Frank asks Elise about her bracelet, and she replies:

It's the Roman god, Janus. My mother gave it to me when I was little. She wanted to teach me that people have two sides. A good side, a bad side, a past, a future. And that we must accept both in someone we love.

The safe in Pearce's apartment is hidden behind a Janus-relief.^[9] Finally, it is revealed that Alexander Pearce has obtained a new face with the help of plastic surgery.

Dostoyevsky references[]

The film's Russian gangsters Virginsky (Igor Jijikine), Lebyadkin (Vladimir Orlov), Liputin (Vladimir Tevlovski), Fedka (Alec Utgoff) and Shigalyov (Mark Zak) all carry names from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 1873 political novel Demons. First-credited screenwriter and director Donnersmarck has talked of his childhood obsession with the Russian writer,^[10][11] and the Dostoyevskian theme of corrupt police and government resonates throughout the entire film.^[12][13]

Release[]

Reception[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 20% based on 169 reviews and an average rating of 4.33/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The scenery and the stars are undeniably beautiful, but they can't make up for The Tourist's slow, muddled plot, or the lack of chemistry between Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie."^[14] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 37 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[15] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.^[16]

Roger Ebert also gave the film 2 out of 4 stars.^[17] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 0 out of 4 stars, and put the film on his list for the top 10 worst films of 2010.^[18][19]

The film received good reviews in the German press.^[20][21]

Stephanie Zacharek, a Rotten Tomatoes Top Critic, listed the film as one of her "10 Best Movies of 2010." She called it "a visually sensuous picture made with tender attention to detail and an elegant, understated sense of humor".^[22] Casey Burchby of DVD Talk acknowledged that the movie was "beautifully shot by the accomplished Oscar-winner John Seale," but that the "hastily-prepared film does not care one iota about its characters."^[23]

Cultural reception[]

At the 2011 Golden Globe Awards, Ricky Gervais made fun of the film while he was presenting. In a scripted, fictional encounter written by Gervais and Stephen Merchant, Johnny Depp questioned Gervais following the incident on the show Life's Too Short. Depp reminded Gervais that the film has been very successful and had grossed $278 million. This dig from Depp was aimed at Gervais' two Hollywood films he had filmed at that point in his career, which were Ghost Town and The Invention of Lying. The films grossed $27 million and $32 million respectively.^[24][25]

Awards[]

The film was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards: Best Musical or Comedy, Depp for Actor Musical or Comedy, and Jolie for Actress Musical or Comedy.^[26][27] The fact that a film originally promoted as a romantic thriller was nominated for the comedy category garnered the film and the Golden Globes considerable mockery. It was later revealed that the film was originally submitted by the studio as a drama, but Henckel von Donnersmarck then told the HFPA that the film should be categorized as a comedy. HFPA President Phil Berk said, "Given the differing opinions, we asked the studio to screen the film for us in advance, and collectively, we decided that the elements of preposterous fun lent the film more to a comedy than a straight drama category."^[28]

Awards
Ceremony	Award	Category	Name	Outcome
68th Golden Globe Awards[26]	Golden Globe Award	Best Picture: Musical or Comedy		Nominated
		Best Actor: Musical or Comedy	Johnny Depp	Nominated
		Best Actress: Musical or Comedy	Angelina Jolie	Nominated
2011 Teen Choice Awards	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie: Action		Nominated
		Choice Movie: Actor Action	Johnny Depp	Won
		Choice Movie: Actress Action	Angelina Jolie	Won
2011 ASCAP Awards	ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards	Top Box Office Films	James Newton Howard	Won

Soundtrack[]

The Tourist
Soundtrack album by James Newton Howard
Released	2010
Genre	Soundtrack
Label	Varèse Sarabande

The soundtrack CD of The Tourist was released on December 21, 2010.^[29]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tracking Elise"	James Newton Howard	1:29
2.	"Burned Letter"	James Newton Howard	2:21
3.	"Paranoid Math Teacher"	James Newton Howard	3:31
4.	"Arrival At Venice"	James Newton Howard	3:06
5.	"Elise Offers A Ride"	James Newton Howard	1:52
6.	"A Very Nice Kiss"	James Newton Howard	2:04
7.	"Bedroom Dreams"	James Newton Howard	2:58
8.	"Piecing It Together"	James Newton Howard	3:11
9.	"Rooftop Run"	James Newton Howard	5:18
10.	"Chase Through The Canals"	James Newton Howard	5:45
11.	"Because I Kissed You"	James Newton Howard	3:34
12.	"A Very Nice Hotel"	James Newton Howard	2:27
13.	"Arriving At The Ball"	James Newton Howard	2:04
14.	"Your Choice In Men"	James Newton Howard	2:04
15.	"Sudden Departure"	James Newton Howard	2:03
16.	"The Infinite Price"	James Newton Howard	7:30
17.	"The Janus Safe"	James Newton Howard	3:01
18.	"Rain Of Bullets"	James Newton Howard	1:29
19.	"Aftermath"	James Newton Howard	0:52
20.	"Elise & Alexander"	James Newton Howard	2:41
21.	"Personal Cheque"	James Newton Howard	1:57
22.	"Dance In F"	Gabriel Yared	2:42
23.	"Starlight"	Muse	4:06
24.	"No Fear of Heights"	Katie Melua	2:59

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: The Tourist

• Official website
• The Tourist at IMDb
• The Tourist at AllMovie
• The Tourist at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Tourist at Metacritic
• The Tourist at Box Office Mojo