Fridae

Few people want to watch dramas these days. Too slow, too deep or just plain unexciting, many would say. No drama could compare to the thrill and spills of an actioner, a horror movie or even a laugh-out-loud comedy, they'd add.

Everyone's entitled to their thrills, of course. But if for some unexplainable reason you feel a small and sudden urge to catch a drama in the cinema, then we suggest you watch The Visitor. It's, quite simply, a lovely little drama.

The wonderful veteran actor Richard Jenkins (from Six Feet Under) plays as an economics professor who is bored, tired and lonely. Since his wife died, he cannot summon the interest or enthusiasm to do very much anymore.

Then, on a visit to his usually unoccupied New York apartment, he finds two squatters (Haaz Sleiman and Danai Gurira) living there. At first, he chases them out. But after realizing that they have nowhere else they go, he asks them to return to the apartment.

Slowly, he becomes friends with these immigrants. And they, in turn, reawaken him to life again. The heart, as they say, is a resilient little fella.

Directed by Thomas McCarthy (The Station Agent), The Visitor is a remarkably subtle and nuanced picture. Many of you, we suspect, will find it a complete bore. But those of you willing to take things slow for a couple of hours, and patiently watch this story quietly unfold, may be pleasantly rewarded.