The Visitor

The second directorial effort from Tom McCarthy ("The Station Agent") is a lovely little character piece about a widowed college academic (Richard Jenkins) going through the motions of life until he meets a young foreign couple (who happen to be living in his otherwise empty New York apartment). The connection that Jenkins' insular Walter makes with Syrian musician Tarek (Haaz Sleiman), an open, generous fellow who teaches Walter to play the djembe (an African drum), feels natural and necessary, as does Walter's devotion to Tarek when he lands in the labyrinth of Homeland Security. It's a quiet screenplay of a life suddenly awakened by friendship and music, and a film full of sublime moments of intimate observation. Features laid-back commentary by writer/director McCarthy and star Jenkins, the brief promotional featurette "An Inside Look at The Visitor," a featurette on the djembe, and four brief deleted scenes with optional commentary. Also available in a Blu-ray edition.