Review of The Water Diviner (2014) by Geoff A — 01 Jan 2015

Few actors have gone on to become good directors, Mel Gibsons Braveheart stands out as the best (in my view) but this film shows a lot of promise in Crowe's directorial abilities to the point that maybe one day he could do better, I was impressed so I've come out of Flixster retirement after half a decade to give a short review.

This film is a drama that is partially about a father trying to find the bodies of his sons in the aftermath of the battle of Gallipoli. Events primarily take place in Istanbul immediately after WW1, where the scars of war still run very deep and there are a lot of political developments in Turkey. Crowe (Connor) is a very determined and emotionally driven guy who overcomes many obstacles in his endeavor, and also uses his time in Turkey to initiate what must be said is a pretty corny romance with a local hotel matron. The film is by no means perfect, some of it is amateurish and telling of Crowes lack of experience. I also thought it a tad unnecessary that psychic powers and visions are used to facilitate the storyline, whilst some of the storyline elements are extreme and far fetched in an effort to maximize drama, though it is to the point of borderline implausibility. In addition, the film contains a very dark and disturbing war scene to pull at the heart strings about one of the most horrific situations imaginable - whilst little of the film actually contains war scenes, this scene seems included to demonstrate the "war is hell" idea and it did resonate even if the circumstances of the scene seem particularly unlikely. In spite of a number of flaws it is entertaining and interesting throughout, really good for a debut and Crowe has come a long way from throwing telephones at hotel waiters.