Review No.123: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

After I started the week with Hunky Dory it seems to be a continuing theme of gentle films as next up is the romcom come political satire Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. The film is based on a popular novel by Paul Torday and stars Ewan McGregor as Fred Jones the government's salmon fishing expert who is asked by Emily Blunt's Harriet Chetwode-Talbot to help introduce some of his favourite fish into the waters of the Yemen so that the sheikh she represents can fish for them. The tightly-wound Fred blasts the idea believing salmon wouldn't thrive in the warm waters of the Yemen however when the Prime Minister's press secretary Patricia Maxwell, played by the brilliant Kristen Scott Thomas, picks up on the project she wants it to go ahead in order to promote Anglo-Arab relations. After meeting Sheikh Muhammed, Fred's opinions change meanwhile he gets closer to Harriet whose boyfriend Robert is lost in action in Afghanistan while his own relationship with his wife Mary is fractured after she goes on business in Geneva. The Yemen project faces its share of problems namely getting salmon from British waters and transporting them out of the country as well as militants against the Sheik trying to sabotage the endeavour. Overall though the project brings the best out in everyone with Fred loosening up, Harriet forgetting about Robert and Patricia able to get her picture perfect moment.

Though I've never read the book that Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was based on I can tell that certain parts of it have been watered down, if you'll pardon the pun, in order to present a crowd-pleasing romantic comedy. For me, charming as they both are, I never felt that Blunt and McGregor really had enough chemistry to be a central couple even though they're fairly well suited to their individual performances. I do like when Ewan McGregor does a role where he has to hold something back and here as Dr Fred Jones he portrays a man whose life is stuck in a rut and he needs someone to rescue him from it meanwhile Blunt is perfect as the charming PR woman who can easily hold her own in a man's world brimming with both confidence as well as vulnerability when the moment comes for it. For me though the film was at its best when dealing with the political elements in particular Kristen Scott Thomas' Mrs Maxwell who stole the film as a man-eating female Alistair Campbell figure who wasn't afraid to stand up to her superiors while simultaneously bonding with her son over a violent video game. The scenes in which she is sparring with the foreign minister or conspiring with the PM via webchat are much more entertaining than those in which Fred realises he is in love with Harriet. Ultimately there's not enough bite and too much cheese in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen to make it a very memorable film still it's amiable enough, thanks in part to its exotic locations and its top notch cast, still I would've preferred something more substancial than this very light romantic drama.

Verdict: Too much romantic dithering coupled with emotional heartfelt speeches meant that Salmon Fishing in the Yemen really dragged at times thankfully the reliable Kristen Scott Thomas added some much-needed bite to the film while the charming lead performances means that it gets a very generous 6/10

Review No.60: Haywire

Basing a film around somebody who has never acted before is a tricky business even when that person, in this Gina Carano, has been surrounded by lights and camera before. Carano is best known as a fighter in the mixed martial arts field but was also a former American Gladiator and in Steven Soderbergh's Haywire she makes her debut as government contractor Mallory Kane. Haywire's story is a simple one as Mallory is sent to Barcelona to rescue an Asian journalist before being convinced by her boss/former lover Kenneth, played by Ewan McGregor, to take up another assignment posing as Michael Fassbender's wife. It is only when on this assignment that she realises she has been set-up and Fassbender is out to kill her thankfully she realises this in the nick of time and is able to over-power him. Returning to the States she is confronted by another old colleague, played by Chaning Tatum, before commandeering the car of a customer at the diner she was in. After telling him her story she ends up at her father's house where she demands the truth from Kenneth which is a conspiracy that also involves Michael Douglas' government agent and his contact played by Antonio Banderas.

It's fair to say the best parts of Haywire are when Carano is kicking ass or plotting her next move however Soderbergh seems set to make her act as much as possible. The two best scenes in Haywire, in my opinion, are when Mallory is tussling with Fassbender in an Irish hotel or when he is wrestling with McGregor on a Mexican beach. For me the problem here is that Soderbergh has over-complicated the plot meaning that we must learn of half of a dozen characters in the first fifteen minutes of the film and I really struggled to work out who was on who's side. It seemed that a variety of reliable actors such as McGregor, Fassbender, Banderas and Douglas had been drafted in to act alongside the amateur however I feel the majority of them are wasted in underwritten role. Carano herself isn't an awful actress just a little cold so while I understood her need for revenge she never really made me care if she lived or died. What should've happened with Haywire is a lot more set piece, such a when Mallory is trying to evade the Irish police, and a lot less of her hanging around waiting for stuff to happen. This being a Soderbergh film at least everything is styled to perfection there's some great cinematography, the score suits the mood perfectly and each new location is welcomed in so at least we know where we are even if we're not quite sure what's going on. I think Carano was often utilised in the right way but I have to say I'd expected more from the film seeing as who was involved and at the end of the day Haywire seemed to me to be a film that should've been simple but a lot more complicated by an over-abundance of character and too many cooks spoiling the broth.

Verdict: Slick and stylish in places with some great set-pieces it's a shame that Soderbergh peppered his film with far too many different characters so for that reason I can only award this 6/10