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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Visitor, The
Overture Films


7.9

based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 36 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for brief strong language

Starring Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Hiam Abbass, and Maggie Moore

In a world of 6 billion people, it takes only one to change your life. In actor and filmmaker Tom McCarthy's follow-up to his award-winning directorial debut "The Station Agent," we get to know Walter Vale, a disillusioned Connecticut economics professor whose life is transformed by a chance encounter in New York City. Through newfound connections with virtual strangers, Walter is awakened to a new world and a new life. (Overture Films)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Thomas McCarthy
DIRECTED BY:	Thomas McCarthy
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: October 7, 2008 Theatrical: April 11, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	103 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

The Visitor, is, if anything, more imaginative and touching than his first.

100

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

As a writer-director, McCarthy, like the characters and the places that he suffuses with emotion, has poetry in him - and he knows how to let it out. He has a talent for demarcating those spaces in which characters can become whoever they want to be.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It works on several levels, and stands out as a wistful meditation on the psychological cost of 9/11.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Eloquent and unassuming, it's a picture that hits home precisely because it doesn't overreach its grasp.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

The curious thing about The Visitor is that even as it goes more or less where you think it will, it still manages to surprise you along the way.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

A heartfelt human drama that sneaks up and floors you.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

McCarthy's flawless casting may be the film's greatest strength: Veteran character actor Jenkins and his costars vanish into their characters -- their performances are so subtle and unforced that they don't feel like performances at all.

USA Today Claudia Puig

It is one of the year's most intriguing dramas, with a quartet of powerful performances.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Best movie I've seen so far this year? Hands down, it's Tom McCarthy's superb The Visitor, which turns Richard Jenkins, one of the best character actors in the business, into a full-fledged star.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Jenkins and The Visitor”make lovely music together. It’s a case of a veteran character actor slipping on a leading role like the most comfortable pair of pants in the world.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

This is a film of our times - paranoid, heartbroken, disillusioned - and the rare recent American movie whose characters react the way actual people might.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Like few of his filmmaking peers, McCarthy understands and respects the power of quiet, and how a whisper can be as explosive as a shout.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

This audaciously issues-loaded indie drama works, improbably and entirely, on account of the marvelous, often familiar-looking, rarely starring character actor Richard Jenkins and his perfect performance as a stodgy, widowed economics professor.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

A compelling and illuminating story of four people who form an unlikely and momentary friendship of considerable depth.

Variety John Anderson

A combination immigrant/resurrection tale, Visitor tilts toward the soulful rather than the political, and could be this year's humanistic indie hit.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Gives viewers a perceptive, deeply personal take on the timeless immigrant narrative, in which the most epic journey is finally one of self-discovery.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Powerful second film by writer-director Thomas McCarthy (The Station Agent).

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

An unassuming but quietly heartbreaking drama.

Empire Anna Smith

The tension dips occasionally but stick with it and you'l be richly rewarded.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The Visitor is a small movie, but its emotions could not be writ any larger.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

The combined effect is, as I say, small but sincere. McCarthy may prove to have something bigger in him, or he may be a miniaturist content to build little stories and fill them with all the humanity they can bear. If that's the case, there are far less worthy ways to spend a career.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

At first glance Walter isn't a guy you want to spend two hours with. But by the end of the film, you don't want to see him go. Jenkins is like that: He sneaks up on you and steals your heart with light-fingered skill.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

This is a simple story of human drama that provides an incentive to spend a couple of hours in a movie theater during a spring that has not provided many such reasons.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

The Visitor tells of renewal through love. Its song is tinged with sadness, but stirring all the same.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Definitely a film that marches to its own drumbeat.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jason McBride

The actor - like everyone else in this tedious yet affecting film - rises well above his soft-headed, solipsistic material, turning in a performance of nuanced delicacy.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Both director and cast exhibit the dedication of those who truly believe in the message at hand. But with so much earnestness onscreen, the message occasionally gets in the way of the movie itself.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

McCarthy is so careful not to take a political stand that his film seems neutered by good intentions. In the spirit of squishy humanism, he soft-pedals a hard-hitting topic.

Village Voice Scott Foundas

McCarthy unquestionably means well, but he's made one of those incredibly naïve movies that gives liberals a bad name, and which does more to regress the sociopolitical discourse than advance it.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 36 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Charlotte B. gave it a0:
What a disgusting naive liberal white guilt film. White culture is uninspiring to Walter. Only Muslim culture has value. There is anti-Semitism in this film that is condoned, when his Jewish named neighbor is portrayed as gay and silly, talking about his dog sprinkles & his mother in Florida. This movie is the height of "guilty white liberalism" when Walter is only respectful of the Muslim characters & satires the non-Muslims. I was deeply disappointed and do not to be brainwashed that third world Syrian & Senegal culture has more dignity than Euro-American.

Branden R. gave it a7:
Richard Jenkins is great as Walter in this movie, but I think the movie is shallow. The topic of illegal immigration was not explored here. You feel like you know Walter instead of Tarek and Zainab. Shame.

Sheila N. gave it a10:
I just can't believe how lovely this movie is. A thought-provoking movie that deals so well with the immigration/deportation process. Heartbreaking. Made me realize how fortunate we are to live in a country people are still willing to risk everything to be a part of.

Jay H. gave it an8:
What a beautiful film, unique and brilliantly acted by all, especially Richard Jenkins. The writing is superb, so touching and believable. Excellent direction. The slow pace works well for the film.

Marilyn D. gave it an8:
Delightfully entertaining! Beautiful, yet tragically depressing story.

crypticritic gave it a10:
This movie was beautiful in every way. Richard Jenkins acting was superb. The casting was fantastic. The plot believably tragic. For anyone interested in immigration issues, this is a must-see, but there is more to the movie than this. Issues of aging, academic hypocrisy, grieving, cross-cultural connections, and inter-generational relationships are explored as well. I would hope that The Visitor would be nominated for more than one OSCAR... including Best picture of the Year. I hope to purchase this movie as soon as it is released ! It is one of the best that I have seen in recent years.

Mike L. gave it a1:
Utterly implausible yet predictable story. Halfway through, I couldn't wait for it to end. It's politically correct, which may appeal to viewers inclined to believe that a stiff older white guy can learn to play hot riffs on the African drums while fighting the immigration police on behalf of a friendly stranger.

Visitor, The Overture Films

Visitor, The
Overture Films