Review: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Sometimes a romantic story can come from a strange place. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen proves that if your character exhibit a mutual passion towards a specific goal, a blossoming romantic relationship is an easy sell at the movies. Adapted by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) from Paul Torday's novel, the film is obviously comfortable with its dramatic bits, but it's the characters involved that were carved out incredibly. They were written well, but also directed well. Lasse Hallström did a wonderful job crafting the chemistry shared onscreen with leads Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt. Given the filmmaker's history, though (Dear John, Chocolat), directing romance isn't a stretch for him.
British Government fishing expert Dr. Alfred Jones (McGregor) leads a very mild-mannered life. One day he gets a very polite letter from a Ms. Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Blunt) describing a project conjured up by her client, a rich sheikh from the Republic of Yemen. The sheikh's dream is to build a river in the middle of the Yemen desert and fish for salmon in that river. Thinking this proposition is a joke, he declines the request and doesn't give it another thought. When faced with a plethora of negative headlines from the Middle East, the Prime Minister searches for a feel-good story and comes across word of this project. Needless to say, Dr. Jones then gets a friendly nudge to help the project come to fruition.
Simply stated, that is the plot of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and its main driving force, but as the best-laid plans of mice and men proverbially go, obstacles stand in the way. The people in Yemen don't want outsiders building something so massive on their land, Ms. Chetwode-Talbot's boyfriend is missing in action in Afghanistan, and Dr. Jones's marriage is falling apart, leaving him no one to talk to but his koi fish. The improbability of the success of the project notwithstanding, the main characters each have their own internal conflict to deal with. At times this extra conflict was a little off-putting and seemed to pad the story too much. For the most part though, it's handled well enough, that you're only ever taken out of the film's story for a small amount of time.
What really works in the movie is the chemistry between Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt. Seriously though, how can you not have chemistry with Emily Blunt? As an actor, she has many charismatic tendencies, and even though it seems on a surface level that she only plays roles that seem similar to other ones she's played in the past, she's always a shining star in the films in which she stars. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen might be her best performance yet, and here she's proven that she's ready to be a leading lady. Amr Waked, playing Sheikh Muhammed, could be a pleasant surprise for some people. He's got one of those familiar faces, but he hasn't been in much that audiences would recognize.
The biggest challenge a film like Salmon Fishing in the Yemen has in front of it is its ability to make you care about not only the characters involved, but to care about what they care about. Each of their internal conflicts seems like the story would progress fine if they weren't there, and the performances from the main three leads carry the film beautifully. You might check out at times during the course of the film, but it won't be for long. This is the kind of movie you remember after you watch it, and chances are you'll remember it fondly.