The Tourist

Angelina Jolie plays Elise Clifton, the abandoned girlfriend of notorious thief Alexander Piers, who single-handedly stole millions from a ruthless gangster. In hopes of arresting her old flame, the Scotland Yard has placed the eloquent beauty under constant surveillance. At a French café, Alexander manages to discreetly send Elise a letter with specific instructions: she must board a train to Venice and then select a man of his similar build in order to throw off the police.

Frank Tupelo (Johnny Depp) is a widowed math teacher and is soon the unlucky selection for Elise’s elaborate ploy. Elise flirts with him, and Frank easily becomes enamored. When the vengeful mobster mistakenly believes Frank is Alexander Piers, Frank soon finds himself running for his life.

Perhaps my expectations were too high. Both Depp and Angelina Jolie have deservedly garnered a solid movie career, however “The Tourist” seems more of a fluffy eye-candy film. There’s hardly anything to the plot, but there’s an abundance of scenes where the attractive leads gaze into each other’s eyes, as the romantic orchestra soars loudly in the background.

Objectionable content

The profanity consists of 1 OMG, plus 2 “f” words, 2 sh*t, 5 hells, and 2 b*stard, etc. The violence is relatively moderate and remains more on the sprightly side. There is a lot of gunfire and chases, but these remain mostly bloodless, with a touch of humor. While in the water, one man gets hit in the head by a boat. There is a disturbing strangulation scene, which lasts several seconds. This act of violence sticks out as particularly aggressive, since the rest of the film’s violent scenes aren’t as dark.

There’s some sexual content, but, refreshingly, there are no sex scenes. In the beginning of the film, the detectives, who spy on Elise, zoom in on her derriere in a tight dress and wonder whether or not she’s wearing any underwear. However, their supervisor quickly tells them to remain professional. There are three kiss scenes. While two are tame, the other is more visually passionate, as it’s Frank’s fantasy of Elise.

After their first kiss, Elisa quickly goes into the bedroom, closes the door, and begins to undress. Brief shots of her slip are shown. Clearly tempted by their kiss, Frank then begins to slowly turn her doorknob, but then decides against it and sleeps on the couch. “The Tourist” is commendable in keeping the characters respectful of one another, in this regard.

The film has a heavy theme on how things aren’t always as they appear. From Elise conning Frank to the detectives being unethical, these facades run rampant. Likewise, Satan makes his appearance beautiful in order to lure people to sin. In 2 Corinthians 11:14, Paul writes that Satan “himself masquerades as an angel of light.” On the farthest possible end of the spectrum, God is completely truthful, cannot lie, and has written the Scripture to be the perfect instrument for us to know Him. Psalm 33:4 reads,

“For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.”

Another good verse is Deuteronomy 32:4:

He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
    and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
    upright and just is he.

I don’t personally recommend “The Tourist.” Those who prefer seeing movies for a simple escapism, might find this film enjoyable. My advice is to wait for the DVD release.

Violence: Moderate to heavy / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Mild

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.

• Positive
• Negative
• Young people