Satire runs dry in
a soggy romance.
Fisheries expert Dr Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor) gets reeled in by a
billionaire Sheik and his lovely assistant Harriet (Emily Blunt) in attempting
to bring salmon and fishing to the desert
of Yemen. But can a love affair bloom in the arid region?
Despite his reservations, Dr Jones (far less exciting than his
namesake, the adventuring archaeologist) accepts the offer of bringing fishing
to the desert. This decision is made
easier by his tentative relationship with the Sheik’s delightful assistant but
also because of the UK government’s pressure to create a story of positive
Yemeni-British relations.
Casting the net and catching Kristin Scott Thomas is the greatest
achievement of director Lasse Hallstrom whose former glories (Chocolat, The Cider House Rules) seem
like distant memories. Scott Thomas lands
the tastiest role as the Prime Minister’s press guru and gets all the laughs
with the sneaking satire that made the book so well loved. Her oily spin doctor slices through the
sentimentality of the script delivering welcome moments of spiky dialogue like
a cactus in a sea of sand.
Despite being quite an appealing character with his musings on faith
and fishing, the Sheik’s motives for his expensive experiment remain
fishy. The violent complications that
briefly add excitement to the story are dubiously dealt out by those typically slippery
Middle Eastern stereotypes but the film does question the ethics and intentions
of both the wealthy Sheikh and those intent on destroying what he intends to
create.
The love affairs of the upper crust characters fail to ignite the
screen with the relationship between McGregor and Blunt being a little damp but
both stars give charming performances given the limitations and predictability
of the script. It’s all very typically
upper middle class with restraint and lip-chewing over who should jump in the
sack with who but the resolution is never in doubt and the emotions are all so
reserved, it fails to hook the audience or swim away with any tears.
Simon Beaufoy, an extremely reliable screenwriter, adapts Paul
Torday’s book but has lost much of the political satire present in the
source. Following excellent adaptations
that even exceed their origins with 127
Hours and Slumdog Millionaire,
this is somewhat of a disappointment from Beaufoy. Next up he’s tackling Hunger Games sequel Catching
Fire. Let’s hope he hooks a bigger beauty
with that one.
Nevertheless the film is infinitely more entertaining than anyone
with no interest in salmon, fishing or Yemen would suspect. It’s a sweet if only mildly satisfying
romance that has a memorable turn from Kristen Scott Thomas. As a whole, most minds will release it as
quick as they caught it.
While not even remotely close to being as boring as the title would
suggest, this film is still highly unlikely to get you swimming upstream for
it.
I give it 5/10 but I don't think I'm the target audience.
Released Friday 20th
April in the UK.
