The more I think about The Visitor, the more I like it. Thanks for the recommendation, Brooklyn Jen! Bride Jen, in town for her bachelorette weekend, really enjoyed this, too.
3) The Visitor (July 4; the first July film I saw)
A decade ago, I had a film professor who abused the term “little gem” when describing cinematic character studies, but The Visitor really earns the praise. With his first feature, The Station Agent, and now this follow-up, writer/director Tom McCarthy has become the go-to guy for intimate depictions of ordinary, aloof but lonely men. Here, stunted economics professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) discovers the power of music and connection through an illegal immigrant couple, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira), squatting in his New York apartment. Much of Jenkins’ performance comes from eyes and body language, with such winning moments as his bumbling, tender interactions with Tarek’s mother (Hiam Abbass) and his increasing integration into a drumming lifestyle. Eschewing the usual city depictions in favor of day-t0-day living in the parks, subways and later - sadly - a deportation center in Long Island City, McCarthy has filmed a delicate slice of wonder with some of the richest, deepest acting of the year.
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