Sunday, August 23, 2015

The Water Diviner (2014)

Director: Russell Crowe. Cast: Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney, Yilmaz Erdogan. 111 min. Rated R. Australia/USA/Turkey. War/Drama.

I wish I hadn't already known this was Russell Crowe's directorial debut. The truth-inspired story of an Australian father travelling to find his three sons who fought at Gallipoli during World War I, feels like a Saving Private Ryan in Turkey that is too self-conscious; through numerous close-ups on himself , Crowe keeps hammering in the "Hey, look everybody; I can direct" message. And some mistake are too obvious: both sides of a battle in different scenes are shown moving from left to right, disorienting the viewer. You're a great actor, but nobody forced you to direct.

Mo says:

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