The International, starring Naomi Watts and the grimy, knock-kneed Clive Owen, is a really strange film that I have tried – and failed – to watch on a number of occasions. It looks really good, and there are fantastic locations – Berlin, and a roof-top chase in Istanbul stand out – and there’s a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to build a climate of 70’s style paranoia and fear. But it feels just kind of empty, partly because there’s absolutely zero chemistry of any sort between the stars.
The big final shoot-out at The Guggenheim though is actually a life-sized 36m set, built on location in a disused railway warehouse in Germany. And the chandelier? – that’s fx.