Interview

Pierre Peders, a political reporter, is sent on a job he does not want: an interview with Katya, a soap opera star. The meeting starts badly, an accident moves them to her apartment, and the night turns into a game of who can get what out of whom. The film is not interested in journalism. It is interested in two people selling their own version of themselves: both lie, both look for the other's weak spot, and sincerity is a tactic here. The form is a two-hander: one location, something close to real time, and constant talk. Steve Buscemi directs and plays the journalist. There is a heavy story behind it. This is the American adaptation of Theo van Gogh's Dutch film from 2003. Van Gogh had planned to direct the English-language version himself; he was murdered in 2004. The film was made as the first part of Triple Theo, a project to remake three of his films in America. Sienna Miller plays Katya. Who it is for: viewers who like two-person chamber tension and acting duels. Who it is not for: anyone after the hardness of the original. The American version is more polished and more tractable, and the darker side of the characters is softened.