Tribeca review: Tom Hanks lost in the desert in "A Hologram for the King"
He is no Lawrence of Arabia, who was sent on a mission to the Arabian desert to win an alliance with tribal chiefs during wartime. But Boston salesman Alan Clay is sent on a no-less delicate assignment to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His mission: win a lucrative IT contract for a planned metropolis sprouting up like a mirage in the desert.
In fact, when we first see Clay (Tom Hanks), he is covering the Talking Heads' song "Once in a Lifetime" -- his personal and professional ennui inescapable, even in his dreams. His entry into Saudi Arabia -- where his promised meetings with dignitaries are constantly thwarted -- prompts anxiety attacks and a blank-eyed disbelief at the strangeness around him. Buffeted by cynicism and defeat, the divorced Clay is morose, and inexplicably cool to the amorous advances of a Danish consultant (Sidse Babett Knudsen, of "Borgen").
Clay is a lost soul, constantly reliving his failures (such as his decision, when he was running Schwinn, to move the bike manufacturer to China). Symbols of the global economy (of which he is a complicit part) are everywhere in Saudi Arabia, in the skeletons of skyscrapers being constructed, and the hired help of the American chain hotel where he's holed up. And things aren't even as they should be: for example, alcohol is not allowed in the kingdom, but you can still find a cold beer if you know who to ask. (And if you're invited to a party at an embassy, expect to find Islamic strictures end at the door.)
The one bright light in his life, his daughter Kit (Tracey Fairaway), is also a reminder of his responsibility and his isolation. Is he a good father? Probably, but you'd have a hard time convincing him of that.
Based on Dave Eggers' novel, "A Hologram for the King" gives Hanks yet another opportunity to do what he does best: play an Everyman trying to maneuver his way in a world that seems borderline crazy but is instead just out of tune with his expectations.
German writer-director Tom Tkywer (best known for the 1998 thriller "Run Lola Run") invigorates the story with clever editing and visuals that ramp up the oddness of Clay's point of view. But mostly he lets Hanks stand front-and-center, a tourist among camels, still delighting in wonders and humor where others see threats, seeking a purpose for himself amid his own burned bridges and some scary reminders of his mortality (like that big lump on his back).
When Clay joins a hunting party on the watch for wolves attacking a sheepherder's flock, his reaction to the sight of a predator is one of both awe and respect. The fear, by then, has gone out of him.
Lawrence liked the desert, he said, because "it's clean." Hanks' Clay is attracted because it is cleansing -- it erases doubt -- but also dirty, confounding the efforts of mere mortals who think sweeping away sand will work. The desert is bigger than us, way bigger than our fantastical visions and hubris, and Clay is happy to finally find a place where size not only doesn't matter, it's beside the point.
"A Hologram for the King," which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, opens in theatres on Friday. The film is rated R (for language, drug use, and some nudity you wouldn't expect so close to Mecca). With Sarita Choudhury, Alexander Black, Tom Skerritt and Ben Whishaw.
To watch a (spoiler-filled) trailer for "A Hologram for the King" click on the video player below.