some flowers are just funnier than others. The Visitor is tough to categorize. On one hand it's a straightforward story of a lonely guy who finds meaning in life, and on the other it's so deadpan and simple that it makes you remember why they make movies: Because real life depicted as real life can be boring.
The movie stars Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) as Walter Vale, a withdrawn, forlorn professor gliding through life in isolated emotional pain. Jenkins (an underrated actor) proves to be absolutely proficient in this role, broadening his range to new heights or in this case, lows. Gone are his usual comedic wise-cracks and/or witty flamboyance.
When Walter is sent from Connecticut to New York City to give a lecture and visits an apartment building he owns, he finds a couple of illegal immigrants, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira) living there. He reluctantly befriends them and his life begins to change. Tarek plays an African conga-drum and entices the prof into giving it a whirl. Next thing we know, Walter's beating the darn thing while wearing his underpants. Soon they are playing in a drum-circle in Washington Square Park. Trouble ensues in a subway when cops apprehend and arrest Tarek for supposedly jumping a turnstile. The rest of the movie is the slow-burn-saga of Walter trying to come to grips with saving someone else's life, therefore saintly redeeming his own. The film's tricky title will provoke discussion as to who's the visitor: Walter charting new territory or Tarek whose immigration status is challenged.
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