AS enjoyable as this thriller is and the pairing of Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, The Interpreter is ultimately let down by its implausibility.

Directed by the veteran Sydney Pollack, this is a film unafraid to tackle some big issues so resonant in today's dangerous world.

Pollack tackles arguments over peaceful diplomacy rather than violence, the importance of the United Nations and instability in Africa.

The story centres around African-born interpreter Silvia Broome (Kidman). She works at the vast UN headquarters in New York and overhears a plot to assassinate an African leader - the leader of her home country - when he is due to address the General Assembly.

She soon realises with horror that she will also be a target of the killers. A US Secret Service agent is brought in to investigate in the guise of the hard-bitten Tobin Keller (Penn).

Keller is detailed to protect her but as time goes on he does not believe her story and all is not quite as it seems.

Adding to the tension is their conflicting views of the world. She believes in honesty and diplomacy, he is the tough, cynical man of action.

The Interpreter is a flashy, well-acted film which doesn't quite manage to pull it off. Iwan Davies