by Lorie Lewis Ham
If you love suspense movies with an Alfred Hitchcock feel, than The Tourist is for you. Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie star in this wonderful romantic thriller. I think Depp was perfectly cast in a role I could totally see Cary Grant in, had it been a Hitchcock film. 
Jolie’s character, Elise Clifton-Ward receives a letter from her lover, Alexander Pearce, who happens to be a wanted man. After burning the letter, much to the chagrin of Scotland Yard, she quickly leaves to meet him as per his instructions. The Yard has been watching her for two years in hopes she would lead them to Alexander, but they are not the only ones watching her. To throw off her followers, Elise approaches an American tourist on a train going from Paris to Venice and begins to flirt with him, in order to make them believe he is Alexander. The tourist is a math teacher on vacation named Frank Tupelo, played by Depp.
It isn’t long before she has dragged this simple math teacher into a world of trouble and they are dodging bullets, mobsters, and Interpol. At one point Tupelo is running across a hotel rooftop barefoot and in his pajamas running from hit men—just one of the many moments that gave this movie a very Hitchcock feel. For those not familiar with the great suspense/thriller director Alfred Hitchcock—he was indeed the master of the genre from the late 1920’s through the 70’s.
I hesitate to give away anymore of the plot, as half the fun is all of the many discoveries and twists and turns along the way. I had more than one moment during the film where I nearly shouted out “Yes, I knew it!” I know this movie received a lot of bad reviews, but I have to disagree with them all as I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. The Tourist is filled with action, romance, suspense, mistaken identity, and a chase across Venice. Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and violence.
The Tourist is now playing at Dinuba Platinum Theatres 6. Showtimes can be found on their website.
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