Three Thousand Years of Longing is the latest effort from director George Miller who gave us the Mad Max movies. Here he makes a film that gives us some sensational images and two wonderful actors in the midst of his grandiose vision. Unfortunately, these visuals aren’t quite enough to save it from a mediocre plot.
The movie stars Tilda Swinton as Alithea Binnie, a scholar who is content with her independence. She travels to Istanbul and while she’s there, she buys a trinket. Little does she know that it contains a centuries-old genie.
Idris Elba stars as the genie also known as the Djinn. They meet in her hotel room and at first, he’s a giant, but he makes himself shrink down to her size.
In typical fashion, the Djinn offers her three wishes, but it turns out to be a little more complicated than that. The Djinn tells Alithea that if she makes her three wishes, she’ll actually grant the Djinn his freedom. The two talk philosophically about the world he comes from and whether or not she can trust him.
The Djinn tells her a series of stories from his past and how he ended up in the trinket. One of his stories involves a love affair he had with the Queen of Sheba.
Other stories involve his tales of Prince Mustafa and how their fates intertwined. It’s here where Miller’s bonkers visuals take center stage and he marvels an impressive special effects effort by making his actors inhabit the worlds he creates.
However, these performances deserve a more engrossing story. Elba and Swinton are very effective in their roles and Miller knows how to concoct striking images.
That being said, Three Thousand Years of Longing also stumbles with a story that ultimately left me emotionally detached. Any scenes involving romance or other kinds of dramatic interests are not explored in a convincing or memorable fashion.
Three Thousand Years of Longing is directed and acted skillfully, but the script is a letdown.
My wish would’ve been for Miller and his cast and crew to go further and try more.
Grade: B-
(Rated R for some sexual content, graphic nudity and brief violence.)
