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NOT SO PROMISING

Hollywood take on 1914 man-made disaster in The Promise fails as romantic drama

Perhaps the filmmakers should have considered consulting an Armenian or Turkish panel before producing the movie

The Promise (12A) 134mins

A MOVIE with either Oscar Isaac or Christian Bale in normally means quality is assured.

(L-R) Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac normally appear in quality productions
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(L-R) Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac normally appear in quality productionsCredit: AP:Associated Press

That guarantee is broken in this failed attempt to shoe horn the Armenian genocide into a sweeping, romantic drama complete with swooning, dancing and men hanged from lamp posts.

Bale, playing a heroic American journalist reporting on Turkey’s annihilation of its Armenian population in 1914, rarely breaks into anything more than a glare as Isaac’s trainee doctor falls for his girlfriend Ana (Charlotte le Bon).

'The Promise' portrays the Armenian genocide in Turkey in 1914
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'The Promise' portrays the Armenian genocide in Turkey in 1914Credit: AP:Associated Press

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Charlotte Le Bon as the attractive Ana in The Promise
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Charlotte Le Bon as the attractive Ana in The PromiseCredit: AP:Associated Press
The romantic depiction of the Armenian genocide is a very Hollywood take on the man-made disaster
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The romantic depiction of the Armenian genocide is a very Hollywood take on the man-made disasterCredit: AP:Associated Press

At least he didn’t have to attempt a gnarled Eastern Europeanish accent like Isaac and Tom Hollander.

I doubt the film makers bothered consulting anyone Armenian or Turkish before finishing this very Hollywood take on a man-made disaster.

Christian Bale stars alongside Charlotte Le Bon as an heroic American journalist reporting on the Turkish Ottoman Empire's massacre of its Armenian population
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Christian Bale stars alongside Charlotte Le Bon as an heroic American journalist reporting on the Turkish Ottoman Empire's massacre of its Armenian populationCredit: AP:Associated Press
Oscar Isaac as the trainee doctor who falls for Ana (Charlotte Le Bon)
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Oscar Isaac as the trainee doctor who falls for Ana (Charlotte Le Bon)Credit: AP:Associated Press

Otherwise, something a whole lot less simplistic would have been agreed.

Rating: Two stars.

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