the visitor

Though the title sounds like that of an alien horror movie, "The Visitor" is a wonderfully touching look at loneliness and the simple beauty in life itself. Director Thomas McCarthy, who also gave us the hug inducing "the station agent," has a knack for tapping into the human experience. A little more plot to propel the film this time, "The Vistor" follows Walter, a widower living an uninspired, quiet life. He comes home one evening to find an immigrant couple living in his apartment. With no place else to go, Walter allows the couple to stay for the night. As he slowly forms a unique relationship with his visitors, something gradually begins to awaken in Walter.
Though the movie is propelled by plot events, it is really about the characters. There's no good guy, no bad guy, but real, everyday people, with unique experiences, emotions, and motivations. With rhythmic, soulful drumming at the heartbeat of the film, "The Visitor" asks us to find the music within ourselves. (I promise, the movie is nowhere near as cheesy as that last line.) Simultaneously sad and uplifting, Thomas McCarthy delivers another gem.