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I had a feeling The Visitor wasn't a movie I wanted to drive far to see, so I decided to wait until it came out on DVD. I stand behind that choice because it was a smaller, quieter movie, and I don't necessarily feel that its visuals or emotions were striking enough to pay a full price of admission. In this movie, Richard Jenkins stars as Walter Vale, a professor who is living in a coma of life. He is a professor, but his classes seem to be unchallenging and tedious. He has co-authored a paper with a fellow professor, although she did most of the work. Much to his surprise, his co-author is suddenly unable to present the paper at a conference, and his boss sends him to present it in her stead.

Walter keeps an apartment in the city but rarely visits it. When he arrives for his conference, he is surprised to find a young couple living there. They were told it was a furnished apartment for rent. Instead of forcing them out on the street, Walter suggests they stay until they can find a new place. Tarek and Zainab are their names, and they are African refugees. Tarek plays the drums and teaches Walter how to play. With his new musical inspiration and new friends, Walter starts to get a new gust of wind in his sails. Unfortunately, while he and Tarek are out one day, Tarek is picked up by the police due to a misunderstanding and is placed in a center while the authorities try to figure out his immigration status. Tarek's mom comes to see her son, and she and Walter strike up a lovely friendship.

I'm glad to see Richard Jenkins finally get recognized for his reliable work. I'm not sure if I've seen him in any movie as more than a supporting actor (loved him in Burn After Reading and North Country, most recently), which is, I'm sure, why he was nominated for an Oscar for this role. The Academy wanted to recognize him. He did a fine job, as always, although I think it was very obvious he wasn't going to win. Actors rarely win for quiet roles (and I wouldn't have chosen him from the list of nominees either).

I thought this movie was smart to approach the increasingly popular movie topic of immigration from the angle that it does here. These aren't border hoppers - they're African refugees. They speak English well and are always courteous to others. How could anyone hate them or want to force them out of the country, right? Some of the dialog can push a little bit too heavily and sound like a list of complaints against "the system". While it is true that there are people like Tarek and Zainab, I wonder what percentage are as wonderful as they are. Poor Tarek even suffers because his own mother hid the fact that the government tried to contact him about his status. Thus, The Visitor becomes a little bit preachy, making its points based on two model non-citizens.

Thankfully, the movie doesn't sink to making tissues of immigration its main point, which is why it is successful. Instead, it's more about the waking up of Walter Vale. Walter starts to play the drums with great enthusiasm. I found that to be nice, but not all that inspiring. The drums were just cracking the door open for Walter to let people into his life for the first time since his wife died. It's Malek, especially, and Malek's mother, Mouna, who truly speak to Walter's heart and recall him back to life (thank you, Mr. Dickens, for that phrase). And that's what makes the movie interesting. I really liked Jenkins with Hiam Abbass, who plays Mouna.

A minor side note - is Walter a popular name lately, or what? I am getting so tired of hearing that name. I'm sensitive to it because of Lost, but Changling, Gran Torino, and this movie all came out last year and all have prominent characters named Walter or Walt.

Well, out of all the Walts I've come across, this one is probably in the best movie. I will say, though, that after all the rave reviews I heard about this movie, I was a little underwhelmed. It was a good movie, and strong and steady just like Jenkins himself. But it didn't stay with me very long after I left it, and I would probably never have need to see it again. Take that for what you will. To me, it means that if you see it popping up on Sundance one day, sure, give it a shot.