"Love ke sala kuch bhi karega", well these words came to my mind, when I found Frank Tupelo(Johnny Depp) walking in to a room full of gangsters to save his lady love Elise Ward(Angelina Jolie), almost in Bollywoodish gait. A simple looking tourist, who has fallen in love with a lady who has crossed his path almost deliberately.
Well, The Tourist which does remind the audience of North By North West, also has a certain flavour of Bollywood. The story begins with Elise being kept under constant surveillance by the police in Paris, to track her lover, Alexander Pierce. It seems Pierce is wanted by the financial crimes department of the Scotland Yard,and is also known to have stolen money from a gangster as well. So its not a simple cat and mouse game..its two cats chasing one mouse. The only problem is that the two cats do not know how the mouse looks like, neither the cops nor the gangsters have a face to match the name...so Pierce becomes the elusive AP.
Elise receives instructions from Pierce, to find someone of his height, and literally take the cops on a wild goose chase..and she does exactly that. Here comes in the Kaplan connection of North by North West. She is on the path of mending her broken heart,as its revealed that she is hearing from Pierce after a hiatus. So she sets the perfect trap!
Enter Frank Tupelo, a math teacher from Wisconsin, who reads thriller novels and is quite enamoured by the lovely lady who decides to sit across him, while on a train to Venice from Lyon.The tourist is almost tongue tied where this lady is concerned...smitten is a better word, but he decides to maintain his silence. He is even invited by this mystery lady to share her hotel suite, albeit different bedrooms. Elise makes it clear that she loves someone else, but our Johnny boy is already in love.
Chase sequences from rooftops to the Venetian canals continue,with everyone thinking Frank to be the elusive Alexander Pierce. While the police discover that he is not the real man, for the gangsters Frank IS Alexander Pierce. Elise seems disturbed when Frank's life escapes the bullets, and she asks him to go back to the US. Here comes the Bollywooodish connect..Frank will do anything for his love..so decides to be by his lady love, even if that means facing bullets together. He can do everything and anything for her, and even risks his own life to save hers. Love can make people do meaningless things after all.
Jolie is convincing as the lover of a fugitive. Elise is made special with her sauciness blending well with her grit, to mend her broken heart..She is a mystery woman through out without having to change into super hero costumes or anything..the aura of mystery is well maintained. So when another facet of her identity is revealed to the audience, its a pleasant shock for them.
From the charismatic and quirky captain Jack Sparrow, to the Mad Hatter, Depp is uber convincing as the American Tourist, who is almost spell bound by the mystery lady. From jumping from rooftops, to speaking about his rights as an American citizen to the Italian authorities, Depp plays Frank Tupelo with great panache. While Jolie carries off her gowns and jewels very well, Depp looks a tad plump, in even the best cut suit..but I guess that goes a long way in convincing the audience with the lost in love and confused tourist image.
So when the film ends with another pleasant shock to the audience, Depp's fans were seen wearing a beaming smile, as they left the theatre. After Inception, a film which really did rivet the audience. Love stories are often regarded as meangingless by many, but this is a love story with thrilling twists and turns. A good watch. So enjoy the trip to Venice with the Tourist, where the perfect trap awaits.
PICTURE COURTESY: GOOGLE
PICTURE COURTESY: GOOGLE
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