Movie · 2008 · Crime, Drama, Music · 1h 44m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 7.0/10 (60K ratings)
Connection is everything.
Overview
A college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.0/10
IMDb: 7.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.72/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Metacritic: 79
TMDB: 7.1/10
Director
Tom McCarthy
Production
Overture Films, Participant, Groundswell Productions, Next Wednesday Productions
Cast
Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira, Hiam Abbass, Marian Seldes, Maggie Moore, Michael Cumpsty, Bill McHenry, Richard Kind, Tzahi Moskovitz, Amir Arison, Neal Lerner, Ramon Fernandez, Frank Pando, Waleed Zuaiter, Deborah Rush, Ashley Springer, Laith Nakli, Jacqueline Brogan, Walter Mudu
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A quietly moving character drama that uses a simple premise to explore loneliness, connection, immigration, and moral awakening. Richard Jenkins gives the film its emotional center, and Tom McCarthy handles the material with restraint rather than melodrama.
Best for
Viewers who like understated, humane dramas
Fans of lonely-protagonist stories that turn into unexpected connection
People interested in immigration stories told through character rather than issue-film speeches
Audiences who appreciate strong lead performances and naturalistic filmmaking
Skip if
You want a fast-paced plot or heavy suspense
You prefer big emotional payoffs and heightened drama
You’re looking for a conventional crime film despite the genre label
You dislike slow, quiet, observational storytelling
Overview
The Visitor is one of those small, patient films that sneaks up on you. It begins with an awkward domestic intrusion and gradually opens into something warmer and more affecting, finding real tenderness in the unlikely bond between a withdrawn professor and the people who disrupt his routine.
Worth noting
Tom McCarthy keeps the movie grounded and unshowy, which makes the emotional turns feel earned. Richard Jenkins is excellent in a role that depends on tiny shifts in posture, voice, and expression, and Haaz Sleiman and Danai Gurira bring easy warmth and vitality to the film’s center.
Bottom line
What lingers most is the film’s empathy. It treats immigration, grief, isolation, and friendship as lived realities rather than talking points, and that restraint gives it real power. It’s a modest film, but a deeply satisfying one.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Alli (4.5★) · 98 likes
It says a lot about a life when you come home to find someone living in your house and ultimately, your world becomes a little brighter. This is an incredible film in that way and I absolutely loved it. (read more here)
Jake Alda Coffey (3.5★) · 87 likes
A touching little movie. Even with his two Oscar nominations, I feel like Richard Jenkins is one of the more underrated actors of this generation.
shookone (4.5★) · 76 likes
McCarthy's The Visitor is an initially calm film. No gimmicks, no stupid gags, no pandering to the audience.
New York professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) travels to his second home in the Big Apple and finds an illegally rented couple from Africa. The Syrian Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and the Senegalese Zainab (Danai Jekesai Gurira) withdraw in a friendly and grateful manner, but the cold, always worried Prof takes heart and offers them to stay a few more days until a…
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (3.5★) · 63 likes
Subjects about immigration, racism and friendship have been touched on movies for decades now - back on the late years of the start of the century and early last decade, a wide array of movies about this made an unexpected comeback. What distinguish from them was these whole themes were written not in a way that focuses or made big emphasis on the topics, but they were more part of the discussion. Some did a poor job and ended up… more Subjects about immigration, racism and friendship have been touched on movies for decades now - back on the late years of the start of the century and early last decade, a wide array of movies about this made an unexpected comeback. What distinguish from them was these whole themes were written not in a way that focuses or made big emphasis on the topics, but they were more part of the discussion. Some did a poor job and ended up… more
2015 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 56m · PG-13 · Curator 7.6/10 (128.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, OVID, Netflix Standard with Ads, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
For audiences who like curmudgeonly protagonists slowly opened by community and compassion.