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2006, Rated R
In this remake of the Danish movie by murdered director Theo Van Gogh, Steve Buscemi plays Pierre, a political journalist who in the midst of one of Washington's biggest scandals is ordered to interview Katya (Sienna Miller), a blonde actress with talent just as questionable as Pierre's ethics. When it becomes apparent to Katya that Pierre considers her nothing more than a pair of tits that can speak, she walks out on the interview only to soon after witness a cab accident that involves Pierre. Feeling bad for the dinged-up douche bag, she invites him back to her nearby loft and before long the two engage in a battle of wits and one-upmanship with surprising outcomes. An engaging study of media, celebrity and the public's addiction to tabloid news, Interview offers up plenty of laughs at the expense of the audience — for better or worse, it's the public who creates personalities like Katya. It's appropriate that Miller, a tabloid queen (albeit it one with more talent than most of her paparazzi-targeted peers), plays the actress who's best known for her bed partners. This two-character piece — which was also directed by Buscemi — is better-suited for the stage, but thanks to an innovative camera style devised by Van Gogh and implemented here by his personal cinematographer Thomas Kist — not to mention an 86-minute running time — Interview manages to deliver a painfully honest depiction of the celebrity animal without feeling languid. (Steven Rosen) Grade: B
