This movie is the kind of movie that can get on your nerves while watching it. Yes, this movie got a lot of positive reviews and a lot of people loved it, but for me, it's a no. Judging from the storyline of this movie, it is supposed to convey how human wants can't be satisfied. This is the second Idris Elba movie that I have watched this year and I was disappointed by it but the truth is, this movie had the chance to be a blockbuster.
Three Thousand Years Of Longing was directed by George Miller, a romantic fantasy film, in which the storyline was adapted from a short story titled The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye by A. S. Byatt and starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton. The storyline of this movie revolves around Alithea Binnie, a British Scholar who comes across a bottle in an antique shop, buys it and takes it with her to Istanbul. So checks into a hotel, and immediately starts to clean the bottle but accidentally opens the bottle and a Djinn (Idris) comes out of the bottle.
The Djinn offers her three wishes to make but Alithea says she has no wishes to make and that she has everything she ever wanted. Djinn got angry as Alithea's decision will make him lost in between worlds, unable to have contact with anyone in an endless loop of time.
Upon hearing how Djinn would be trapped in between worlds if she didn't make any wish, she accused him of being a trickster and questioned his authenticity. So the Djinn went ahead to let her understand that he was real and convinced them to make her decision by telling her his tales of how he got trapped in a bottle. His first tale was about how king Solomon disposed of him by trapping him in a bottle so that he could court Queen Sheba, his cousin, and lover properly without any interruption from him.
His second tale was about Gülten, a young concubine in the palace of Suleiman the Magnificent who couldn't make her wish before she was killed by the king's men. Djinn got trapped in between worlds as his bottle had been concealed by Gülten before she was killed. His third tale revolves around Zefir, the young wife of a Turkish merchant who gifted her the bottle as a gift. Zefir knew what she wanted and made her first wish for knowledge. The Djinn granted her wish and he began to grow affection for her. Zefir gets pregnant with Djinn's child but gets overwhelmed by his presence and all the knowledge running through her mind. Out of frustration, she says her last wish that "she wishes she forgets they never met". Then his tales came back to Alithea.
After Alithea heard all of Djinn's tales, finally, she made up her mind about what she wanted. Then she wished for the Djinn to love her as he had loved Queen Sheba and he granted this wish. How will this tale end? Will Alithea release Djinn from the curse of his bottle? You have to watch the movie to know.
My Review And Rating.
Considering the budget of $60 million for this movie, my expectations were pretty high. The vibe I felt after watching this movie was that of a stage play and flashbacks. The art and storytelling of Djinn got me attached to the movie from the beginning till the end. I went in to watch this movie with the expectation of a special display of magic and action-packed, but it is a slow-paced movie where 80% of the plot was about storytelling.
Having read the book that this movie was adapted from, I think the book is way better with detailed magical action scenes and detailed romantic scenes. The book is much more graphic and intriguing. The book tells stories that happened over 3000 years that were unpacked vividly in words which explains why the movie just scratched the surface. So it just gave me the feeling that this movie would have been a blockbuster that would be remembered by the viewers long after it was released.
The graphic effects of this movie are one of the reasons I watched this movie from the beginning till the end. John Seale, the cinematographer, did a fantastic job with the movie and I must admit his skills. He made all the flashbacks tales vivid, intriguing and captivating. He made sure that all the flashbacks were in good sequence arrangement even though he couldn't unravel all the details of the tales as it was in the adapted book. Also, Tom Holkenborg, the person in charge of the music and soundtrack of the movie did an amazing job of selecting the perfect music for this movie. I appreciate the music of the movie. It was alluring and inviting for me since I love classics.
Now, let's talk about why this movie didn't sit right with me. My biggest flaw in this movie is the casting of the protagonists (Alithea and Djinn). I was highly disappointed with their performance because it sickened me and pissed me off. There was no connection between the two of them. I felt Idris Elba was tip-toeing around Tilda and trying not to offend her. Idris wasn't comfortable with her that one could read his facial expressions to it.
Tilda on other hand was just too proper for me, bland, and boring. Her expressions didn't go well with her role. It was more like a robot-Djinn relationship for me. It wasn't as romantic and sensual as the adapted book was. Seeing some weird and funny criticism about Tilda's role cracked me up as a lot of people said Djinn was raped of will by Tilda, but I don't see it that way. I saw it more like forcing the djinn to love her because she envied the love he had for the intelligent young lady.
Rating this movie, I would give it a 7 out of 10 and 3.5 stars. I wasn't impressed but what saw me through to the ending of the movie was Idris' act of storytelling, the soundtracks of the movie, the cinematography, and the storyline. If you haven't watched it, hurry now and see it. I hope you do enjoy it.
All images above are from the movie screenshots
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