movie - the visitor

the visitor might have been called 'the curious case of walter vale.' after all, vale, (played by best actor nominee richard jenkins,) is a most curious character, alternately gruff and curmudgeonly then open and accepting, but without any hint of incongruity. he is one of those characters that gets under your skin because he is just so damned human.

walter vale arrives late one evening to a new york city apartment he keeps even though he visits it rarely. his wife has recently passed and he is like a buoy bobbing around in the vast expanse of the ocean, untethered to anyone, disengaged from everything, cut off from that which nourishes. in the apartment he finds a young couple who have been duped into renting it from someone who of course has no right to rent it to them. eventually, vale convinces tarek, (haaz sleiman,) and zainab, (danai jekesai gurira,) to stay for a few days until they can find somewhere suitable to go.

the plot twists from there as we find out that tarek and zainab are illegally living in the united states. as vale and tarek become friends with tarek teaching vale how to play the bongo drums he plays in night clubs or outdoors in public with other drummers, tarek is suddenly swept up by immigration officials and placed in detention.

the visitor visits the ideas around our immigration policies, particularly in our post 9/11 world, and touches on relationships, such as that between a senegalese illegal immigrant making ethnic jewelry for a living and a syrian illegal immigrant djembe player living in the nyc, or an illegal mother and son living in a foreign land 1,000 miles apart under the constant specter of deportation, but the essence of the film is really a study of the character walter vale.

vale is ill at ease. he has been taking piano lessons, which his wife had played at a high level, but he has fired several instructors. he is working on a book but he doesn't seem to do any work on it and admits later that it is not going well. he is sent by his school to new york city, (from connecticut,) to present a paper he is receiving co-authorship credit for even though he has not read the paper and is utterly uninterested in the trip.

upon engaging with tarek and switching his musical passion to drumming, this otherwise somnambulist of a man awakes. he smiles. he is out of place in the world tarek inhabits and yet he comes to life. he dares. at one point he even makes a joke with zainab who does not get it and is uncomfortable with vale as she feels she and tarek are an imposition, but it is the venturing forth, the willingness to be un-funny, the risk of interaction that is so relevant for vale.

in attending the conference where he presents his paper vale is disconnected. he is one dimensional, utterly uninterested in conversing with his peers, wrapped up in his thoughts of what will happen after this obligation. once tarek is imprisoned vale takes it upon himself to champion tarek's cause, (in as much as he can.) zainab moves out but shortly tarek's mother, mouna, (hiam abbass,) moves in, after considerable pleading from vale who asks from kindness, not from desperation. as it turns out, tarek's mother is also windowed, her husband having died years earlier in syria. as mouna and walter live under the same roof and shuttle to and fro staying in contact with tarek and zainab and attending to other tasks, they develop a poignant relationship. if not for tarek's deportation and mouna's subsequent self-imposed deportation to join her son, the two of them, (walter and mouna,) likely would have become closer. as it is they comfort one another and share moments of real tenderness.

at the heart of walter vale is a hole. he is unfulfilled. we can't know if he was significantly different when his wife was alive though we might guess that he was. all we can know is that his prestigious position at the university with published books under his belt and a class he has taught for 20 years, is unsatisfying to him. his life when we meet him is the definition of utilitarianism. his life when the movie ends is different. vale is different. he is wholly unconcerned with appearances and interested only in fulfilling that which exists in his heart. what is there, in his heart, is a love for his new friend and a desire to help. what is there, in his heart, is a desire to be surprised, a need to learn new things, a keen interest in the foreign. what is there is his heart is an openness to the world around him.

thomas mccarthy has written and directed a wonderful film in 'the visitor.' if i had a vote, i would give the best actor oscar to richard jenkins. his portrayal of vale is subtle but strong. whatever that thing is that makes walter vale so easy to identify with and root for, jenkins exudes it. the real credit may go to mccarthy for his writing and yet, since he was not nominated, i hope jenkins reaps the reward.

walter vale is a character who will stay with you. you will remember walter vale. he has that quality of being so fragile and yet so brave, injured and yet able to conquer anything so long as he has a sense of purpose and perhaps someone with whom to share his mission. he is a singular character, who is in spite of that definition, in spite of that lonely and memorable nuance, is actually just like every single person on this planet.