Opening in theaters on Friday is “The Tourist,” an embezzlement thriller that pairs Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, two major Hollywood stars better known for there rolls in action flicks like “Salt” and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.
The film’s lack of adventure and comedy is a break from roles its two stars are most familiar with, and it is a tactic many other skilled actors have tried with huge success. Think of George Clooney, and how be moved from doing the “Ocean’s Eleven” films to the more artistic and deep “Michael Clayton” and “The American.” What is new about “The Tourist” is that it brings two accomplished actors together in a way that is a departure for both of them.
The film is loosely based on the French movie from 2005 “Anthony Zimmer.” Jolie stars as Elise Clifton-Ward, an extremely elegant and mysterious Parisian woman who is told to travel by train to Venice. On her way, she meets the math teacher Frank Tupelo played by Depp and makes him a part of an international plan to steal $2.3 billion.
Along for the train ride is a confused British investigator played by Paul Bettany and a dirty crime boss played by Steven Berkoff who attempts to kill Clifton-Ward and kidnap Tupelo, who he is mistaken for a well-known embezzler.
The film is the first directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck since 2007 when his German spy story “The Lives of Others” won the Oscar for best foreign language film.
“The Tourist” develops slowly with the first real action coming 45 minutes after the film begins. Nevertheless, from there the pace is steady and lively.