The Traveler - 2010 Motion Picture (Review)
Every confession is a murder, every murder is the price of a past mistake. The price that has to be paid is just one of the wheels of justice, but whether this justice is administered by the law or by divine justice is hidden in the mystery of the movie The Traveler, released in 2010. In this article, let us unravel the mystery and suspense elements of the movie's story.
Subject
Six men standing night watch at a small town police station face a chain of events that they will never encounter again in their profession. A mysterious man arrives at the police station in the middle of the night, confesses to killing 6 people and the story begins. The curtain has been lifted on the chain of events, but the mystery manages to preserve itself until the last moment.
Acting Performances
Considering that almost the entire story takes place in a police station, it would not be wrong to say that the performances of the actors will be very influential in the success criteria of the movie. When depicting the events of a single night in a police station, the performance of the characters is decisive. Although I found the characters in The Traveler successful in general, there were a lot of shortcomings.
One of the shortcomings was that every scene involving the Desk Sargeant (played by Chris Gauthier) was a low point in the movie. His reactions to the events, body movements and dialogues were so ridiculous that I can say that after the moment he was killed, the movie jumped dimensions.
MR. Nobody (played by Val Kilmer) is the most valuable character of the movie and he alone adds tension to the movie with his outstanding performance. From the moment he appeared until the end of the movie, every scene he was in made me feel the fear and tension at the highest level.
Another character, Detective Alex (played by Dylan Neal), was very successful in transitioning from being victimized to being the oppressor. I can say that his behavior in creating his own justice right after being victimized was the main storyline of the movie. With the scene at the end of the movie, he goes back to his real personality and removes all the question marks.
Except for one character I mentioned at the beginning, I liked the performances of the actors in general. They took advantage of the limited space.
Direction and Cinematography
Although the story is based on a fairly simple plot, the way in which the tension and fear is projected through the actors is successful. The limited space limits the range of the story but does not spoil the pleasure of watching. Especially the shooting angles and dialogues of each scene with the character used to reflect the tension and fear were excellent.
Music and Sound
I can say that I found the soundtrack simply annoying, but before I finish my sentence, I can add that it was successful. I realize this is strange, but while the music successfully reflected the tension and fear, it was very inadequate for the drama. To be more specific, while it makes you feel the fear and tension at the highest level, it spoils the mood by becoming funny during the drama scenes.
Conclusion and Overall Evaluation
The movie The Traveler was generally successful. I liked the editing and the way the story was handled. The suspense and the horror enter at the highest level, increasing the interest and attention. The immersion was flawless. The limited size of the location was turned into an advantage in the story. The performances of the actors have also carried the momentum of success upwards.
I highly recommend watching the movie. It was one of the productions that can be watched with the whole family. The group that I think will like it the most will be thriller lovers. The crumbs of horror interspersed in the suspense scenes added extra value to the movie.