It says a lot about a life when you come home to find someone living in your house and ultimately, your world becomes a little brighter. The Visitor is an incredible film in that way.
We all know more about our own lives than anyone else does. We know when things look good from the outside, but we’re going through the motions and sad inside. We know what it is like to have the same conversations with different people and tell the same jokes that bring a little laugh. We know, but we don’t tell anyone.
The Visitor is the story of Walter, a quiet and serious professor who lives alone and is in the process of writing a book. When he is asked to present a paper at a conference in New York, he reluctantly goes with plans to stay at his mostly unused apartment in the city. Upon entering his second home, he finds that there are two other people living there.
I loved this movie. The first five minutes left me intrigued and, slowly, I began to truly care about – and ultimately have love for – all of the main characters in completely different ways.
The music in this film is a very powerful tool. The score is often neutral with a hint of levity that leaves you just on the edge of feeling happy. And the music played by characters in the movie – that is just pure joy. The delight that they experience is infectious.
There is always a bit of melancholy in the mood, though. The sad moments often have an air of happiness and the happy moments make you emotional in a sad way. To say that I was fully invested is an understatement.
In many ways, Walter (played by the amazing Richard Jenkins, who was nominated for an Oscar for this role) is the audience – he is us. He is outside looking in on a world that he has never known. And the world that he is looking at is full of suspicion, fear, and pure love of the big and little things – love of music, love of creating, love of life.
This is an extremely charming and heart-wrenching movie that I recommend to everyone. I went into it blind (as I usually do), so I will not take that opportunity away from you by giving you more of the plot. It is your choice to look it up, but I highly suggest you don’t. Dive in and enjoy the ride. Just make sure that you’re watching the 2007 The Visitor and not the 2022 film of the same name.
Runtime: 103 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English and French with English subtitles
Should You Watch It? Yes, absolutely
Did I Cry? Yes, a few times
My Rating: 4.75/5 Stars
Available: Free on Prime Video and Tubi or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
We all know more about our own lives than anyone else does. We know when things look good from the outside, but we’re going through the motions and sad inside. We know what it is like to have the same conversations with different people and tell the same jokes that bring a little laugh. We know, but we don’t tell anyone.
