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Interview [DVD] [2007] [Multilingual] [Region 1]

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

The plot of actor/director Steve Buscemi's INTERVIEW is devilishly simple: a political journalist (Buscemi) is sent on a clearly beneath-him assignment to meet an attractive B-list soap star celebrity (Sienna Miller). He makes a mess of the interview, but winds up at her Manhattan loft apartment following an unfortunate car accident. Thus begins an intriguing two-character plot arc in which the mismatched couple argue, drink, snort cocaine, argue some more, and ultimately find some common ground as they both loosen up and reveal some secrets.

Buscemi's film is a remake of deceased Dutch director Theo Van Gogh's 2003 movie of the same name, and the director throws in a few neat references to the original, even aping Van Gogh's predilection for shooting on three cameras. Miller fits perfectly into the role of a disgruntled celebrity who can't contain her anger at the press, while Buscemi delivers an acting master class as the full-of-himself intellectual whose conversation is fueled by a haughty toleration for his sparring partner. INTERVIEW is a lengthy conversation piece that probably has more in common with an off-Broadway play than it does with any of Buscemi's filmmaking contemporaries, but it works, thanks to Buscemi's impressive direction and the superior source material, both of which provide plenty of scope for the two leads to flex their skills.
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- Rating - for language including sexual references and some drug use.
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 21481
Credits

Steve Buscemi, Sienna Miller
Critic Reviews

"[A] riveting two-hander....Buscemi simmers in the juice of self-loathing....Fierce and resonant..." -- Grade: A-
Entertainment Weekly
"Mr. Buscemi always steals his scenes with stealth, nibbling where other actors chew and gulp. His evident lack of vanity is its own kind of vanity, one that is well matched by Ms. Miller's utter confidence."
New York Times
3 stars out of 5 -- "Stick with it for Miller's gutsy tour de force and the kick of watching Buscemi, as actor and filmmaker, turn an experiment into a mesmerizing battle of wills."
Rolling Stone
3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's a two-hander with depth and character insight to burn."
Empire
"Buscemi crafts a snappy two-hander which hews closely to the original script and aesthetic....[With] mesmerising physical performances..."
Sight and Sound
4 stars out of 5 -- "[R]ich with verbal jousting and LaBute-like gender warfare."
Uncut
4 stars out of 5 -- "Buscemi's best directorial work yet; tense, uncomfortable, enthralling and brilliantly played."
Ultimate DVD