Interview

Interview is a film comprised almost exclusively of one conversation between a self-destructive film starlet and a self-important political pundit. Sienna Miller stars as Katya, star of TV's "City Girls" and commercial crap films such as Killer Body 4. Writer/director Steve Buscemi plays Pierre Peders, the Washington hound sitting out on one of the biggest presidential scandals in years to do what he considers to be a meaningless fluff piece. They get off on the wrong foot when the irresponsible Katya shows up an hour late to their interview and then discovers that Peders doesn't know a thing about her or her work, since actresses are, after all, not his forte. They call it quits after a quick drink, but as fate would have it, the paparazzi mania surrounding Katya as they exit causes Peders to sustain a mild injury, and the actress kindly offers to take him to her loft and tend to his wound.

It's there that the film widens its horizons and the characters begin to dig deeper into their dialogue. They discuss everything from fame to personal relationships to hidden secrets and much more. They also do quite a bit of manipulation along the way. Each seems confident that they've got the upper hand and as the conversation progresses, they both strive to exert their influence over the other. The film gets by primarily on Buscemi's strong script, adapted from Theo van Gogh's film of the same name, and the sheer magnetic force of the two captivating leads. Buscemi continues to be one of the best at creating sly, subdued, losers with odd charm. He's brilliantly sleazy and strangely sincere here. He's matched ably by Sienna Miller who has proven herself to be the one of the few tabloid fodder actress with a true gift. She has the presence and depth of a bona fide screen star. Here she plays with her own image to great success dishing on the vapid joys of being a pop culture muse. It's her second breakout role in less than a year (the first being her brilliant work in Factory Girl early this winter), and a performance that should solidify her as a working actress of importance well beyond the glow of the flashbulbs.

As with most films of this type, the movie drifts in quality with the certain portions of the conversation being more impressive than others. There's a satisfyingly consistent tone of prickly wit and acidic bickering that keeps the film universally interesting, but some parts are bound to shine more than others. There's also not really a great end to all the talk. It reaches somewhat of a natural end, a nadir of evil manipulation and menacing confessions. There's just not a rich conclusion of character to each of these people. What we get instead is a confirmation of a certain level of cruelty between them, but no real explanation of how much of their exchange was a real moment of connection and what was merely empty chatter.

Grade: B+