Ever since hearing about the topic this film was covering, many people from a specific country have been giving this film aggressively negative reviews, without even seeing it.
Also, the critical reviews from the film festivals reminded that it was going the same path that Titanic and Pearl Harbor. That path was to tell a love story with a true tragic event as the backdrop. However, it sounded like the film was going to be more like the latter than its Oscar-winning former.
I was intrigued after seeing the trailers, and the director and cast involved gave me hope. I also wanted to know about the subject matter, and it is something that I never got taught at school.
I was glad to say that it is most certainly not a 1/10, like most of those boycotters were campaigning it to be. But it is not far off those soapy melodramatic reviews from most of the critics.
This film is directed by Terry George, who is most well known for directing Hotel Rwanda. This film weirdly has a similar story to it. That made me think this director has some strange fetish to wanting to direct films based on mass genocide. Either that, or he just wanted to expose this subject more to the masses, and various governments have tried to deny admitting that this happened.
But for a film with such a shocking topic, you would think it would be more of a visceral experience. Sadly it just made me want to watch Hotel Rwanda again, as that was really moving and effective.
Oscar Isaac was a pretty good lead. He was committed to his Armenian accent and his screen presence is always a welcoming one. Charlotte Le Bon was better then I expected. I had only ever seen her in The Walk, so I wasn't sure if she could work in something like this. But she ended up being fairly engaging and had a good transformation by the end of it. I'm not sure what to make of Christian Bale. He never stood out in his performance, and it seemed that role could have done by anyone. For someone as big as Bale, you would certainly have expected a lot more out of him.
I will give the film its due. There are certain scenes that were effective and striking. But there just weren't enough of them to make this a memorable experience. It does have the making of a Doctor Zhivago-esque epic. But I think with better performances and writing, this could have been much more enthralling.
In the end, it's done enough for me to get a pass. It does have its moments. You can tell the film-makers are taking this subject matter seriously. The performances seem very committed to the cause. The locations look great and the general look of it is visually arresting. I don't think it's as melodramatic as many others are saying. But I will agree that it is covering too much on the love story and not showing enough development on the war happening around them.
I don't mind them doing this, as it is a very accessible type of story that has worked well in the past. However, it just didn't quite engage me enough to make it memorable. It is a solid piece of work. But sadly, I cannot see myself watching it again or remembering any particular moments.
I would probably wait till it is on TV.
Rating: 7/10
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