Salmon Fishing In The Yemen

There is something that can be said about British cinema this year and thats that all the films coming out have the stars out in full force. The brilliant and wonderful "The Best And Exotic Marigold Hotel" warmed our hearts as we celebrated our love of different cultures in an essentially British way. Ranging from the hopelessly polite to the dreadfully impolite, it show cased all our charms effortlessly. Salmon Fishing In The Yemen, though has an excellent cast, tries and fails to do the same.

The romantic comedy starts with an absurd premise, A Yemen Sheik with a hobbie for salmon fishing wants to upheave dozens of fish to a local river so he can fish to his hearts contents, as well as bringing agriculture and sustainability to an otherwise desolate country. Harriet, his consultant, decides to enlist the unwilling help of fisheries expert, Fred Rogers. Fred is completely against the idea but reluctantly accepts the challenge despite it being theoretically impossible. Add Patricia Maxwell, who needs a great Middle East PR stunt to get relations back on board and two estranged loves of our protagonists and there we have a complicated romantic comedy to warm up our British cockles.

And I think that's the main problem with Salmon Fishing In The Yemen is that it is British; in the way that other people view British. Extremely nice, polite and in the end a little bit boring. Whilst the stellar homegrown cast of Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Kristen Scott-Thomas do some fine acting from start to finish, the story line, no matter how over the top it seems, falls back into an average shrug of the shoulders plot. It plods along at an average speed that fails to truly grab any attention. The script, by "Slumdog Millionaires" Simon Beaufoy, is flat and at some points stale, so much so that at points you regret turning down the extra shot in your morning coffee.  Salmon Fishing is, dare I say it, nice; with nothing truly juicy for you to sink your teeth in. The relationships throughout, though have their problems, are not explored deep enough for you to care as you switch off heartlessly from the "Missing in Action" 3 week boyfriend and the hard nosed stuffy wife.

There is no denying, however that McGregaor and Blunt have great chemistry together, their relationship growth is a believable one that unfortunately is ruined by the tiresome dialogue and streneous story aline. That being said, there are a few shining moments for this films comes. For instance, a hilarious turn comes from Kristen Scott-Thomas. As Patricia Maxwell, she delights with her fierce one liners that would make Malcolm Tucker (The Thick of It) run for cover. Her wit is fired with a sharp edge and it is her moments that cause ruckus of laughter from the audience. And Am Waked  rises above as the gentle but rich Sheik full of Middle Eastern proverbs and a little bit of English influenced charm.

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen has enough to make ripples among a particular audience and would appeal tremendously to an older audience. That being said, there isn't enough to get you hooked. It is essentially a predicatable romantic comedy that does exactly what it says on the tin; except with added boredom and Lasse Hallstrom does ignite some striking images within his film but like fishing itself, it requires a lot of time, patience and interest to really be an enjoyable film.

3/5

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