The Water Diviner (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
For his directorial debut, Russell Crowe attempts to tell a story of war, loss, romance, & healing in 'The Water Diviner'. It's a good-ish film, but one that perhaps suffers from too many subplots jammed into a 110 minute running time. To me, there was more complex, nuanced details that could & should have been mined from this true story. Northern Australian farmer Joshua Connor (Crowe) lost 3 teenaged sons during the disastrous WWI Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey in 1915. After his grieving wife commits suicide 4 short yrs. later, he sets out on a tortured quest to find his sons' bodies & bring them back to be buried beside her. Connor's what one calls a "water diviner", meaning he has a knack for finding underground water by feel and using dowsing rods (as is evidenced in the fascinating opening scene).
Using that mystical ability, Joshua's sure he can locate his dead sons amid thousands of unmarked graves on the battlefield. Arriving in Istanbul, he's coldly rejected by the British military. Unfazed, he settles into a local hotel, where he is befriended the young son of a Turkish widow, Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko, of Quantum of Solace). Initially hostile towards him (because her husband also died in the war, on the other side), she eventually sees the good in him. She also finds the sturdily built Connor attractive ... but her beastly brother-in-law is persistently trying to make her his wife. Admiring Joshua's relentless persistence, an Australian official (Jai Courtney) & 2 Turkish officers help him on his quest, despite the on-going war with the Greeks that Connor doesn't quite understand.
'The Water Diviner' is at its best during the early scenes. Russell Crowe portrays Connor as a salt-of-the-Earth type of guy - a stubborn, meat-&-potatoes man whose submerged grief occasionally bubbles to the surface at times when he's caught off guard. Crowe is one of my favorite actors and, his portrayal as a mournful man determined to find his sons is filled with vulnerability, strength, & compassion. Flashbacks provide glimpses of his life both before the war (sweet scenes involving him & his family) as well as detailing the very last moments when his 3 sons are shot down by gun fire. In fact, the wheezing, moaning, agonized death of one of his sons is pretty painful to watch. I also enjoyed the Joshua's arrival in Istanbul and his trials/tribulations with the early search for his sons.
Unfortunately, the film can't quite sustain the strength of the 1st 45-60 minutes or so. Although it's emotionally satisfying for Joshua to find someone new to care about after having lost his entire family, there's practically nothing authentic about the romance he eventually finds with Ayshe. Even though Olga Kurlyenko (as Ayshe) is appealing & likeable, the romance feels like an inauthentic screenwriter's construct -- sad, but true. It's a distraction from the crux of the story, which is an engrossing & epic tale of grief. I also wasn't wild about the somewhat implausible trek he goes on with a Turkish major (Yilmaz Erdogan) who has decided to join a battle vs. the invading Greeks. While the 1st half of 'The Water Diviner' is very assured, the 2nd half contains moments of artifice & contrivance.
'The Water Diviner' is about a man coping with the tragic cost of war & coming to grips with the guilt he feels for having allowed his sons from facing certain death. I loved a visit to Istanbul's famous Blue Mosque. The battles scenes (while a tad melodramatic) are effectively executed. And Andrew Lesnie (who - incidentally - just passed away. Bummer!) works magic with his exquisite cinematography. I admire 'The Water Diviner' as an old-school historical drama. But as mentioned above, some false moves dilute the film's power. And I just wish that Crowe allowed his characters (& the situations) some breathing room; more room for subtlety & nuance. I wanted to be swept away by thus would-be epic (something a la The English Patient). Instead, the movie flies by without shaking me to me core.
Using that mystical ability, Joshua's sure he can locate his dead sons amid thousands of unmarked graves on the battlefield. Arriving in Istanbul, he's coldly rejected by the British military. Unfazed, he settles into a local hotel, where he is befriended the young son of a Turkish widow, Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko, of Quantum of Solace). Initially hostile towards him (because her husband also died in the war, on the other side), she eventually sees the good in him. She also finds the sturdily built Connor attractive ... but her beastly brother-in-law is persistently trying to make her his wife. Admiring Joshua's relentless persistence, an Australian official (Jai Courtney) & 2 Turkish officers help him on his quest, despite the on-going war with the Greeks that Connor doesn't quite understand.
'The Water Diviner' is at its best during the early scenes. Russell Crowe portrays Connor as a salt-of-the-Earth type of guy - a stubborn, meat-&-potatoes man whose submerged grief occasionally bubbles to the surface at times when he's caught off guard. Crowe is one of my favorite actors and, his portrayal as a mournful man determined to find his sons is filled with vulnerability, strength, & compassion. Flashbacks provide glimpses of his life both before the war (sweet scenes involving him & his family) as well as detailing the very last moments when his 3 sons are shot down by gun fire. In fact, the wheezing, moaning, agonized death of one of his sons is pretty painful to watch. I also enjoyed the Joshua's arrival in Istanbul and his trials/tribulations with the early search for his sons.
Unfortunately, the film can't quite sustain the strength of the 1st 45-60 minutes or so. Although it's emotionally satisfying for Joshua to find someone new to care about after having lost his entire family, there's practically nothing authentic about the romance he eventually finds with Ayshe. Even though Olga Kurlyenko (as Ayshe) is appealing & likeable, the romance feels like an inauthentic screenwriter's construct -- sad, but true. It's a distraction from the crux of the story, which is an engrossing & epic tale of grief. I also wasn't wild about the somewhat implausible trek he goes on with a Turkish major (Yilmaz Erdogan) who has decided to join a battle vs. the invading Greeks. While the 1st half of 'The Water Diviner' is very assured, the 2nd half contains moments of artifice & contrivance.
'The Water Diviner' is about a man coping with the tragic cost of war & coming to grips with the guilt he feels for having allowed his sons from facing certain death. I loved a visit to Istanbul's famous Blue Mosque. The battles scenes (while a tad melodramatic) are effectively executed. And Andrew Lesnie (who - incidentally - just passed away. Bummer!) works magic with his exquisite cinematography. I admire 'The Water Diviner' as an old-school historical drama. But as mentioned above, some false moves dilute the film's power. And I just wish that Crowe allowed his characters (& the situations) some breathing room; more room for subtlety & nuance. I wanted to be swept away by thus would-be epic (something a la The English Patient). Instead, the movie flies by without shaking me to me core.