Review of The Promise (2017) by Matthew D — 22 Jul 2018
An important although aimless movie.
The Promise is a sweet romance movie that happens to take place during the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish government. Unfortunately, a romance during a war film feels very melodramatic. Little character development, contrived romance, and little historical context leaves the audience confused and bored.
The problem with The Promise is that is never decides on what kind of film it wants to be overall. The romance feels forced, especially the love triangle aspect. It distracts from the horrors of war and the larger displacement of the Armenian people. Then, the war atrocities that Turkey commits are sidelined for awkward romantic encounters. Both genres could work on their own, but in the context of the same film, The Promise is rather underwhelming.
The script is pretty solid and realistic, but it feels underwritten as to its characters' arcs. The nice performances from the entire cast of all star actors and actresses are wasted on an otherwise dull film.
I recommend The Promise for those more interesting in a cute tragic love story with a vague intrigue as to the Armenian genocide. You will not learn a great deal of history here, but you might be moved by The Promise's more emotional aspects.
This review of The Promise (2017) was written by Matthew D on 22 Jul 2018.
The Promise has generally received positive reviews.
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