The Turkish dream for an Armenian refuge envelopes him into ‘The Promise’ that will shape his life for better or worse. Empires fall, love survives, hope stands still. In 1915, at the beginning of World War I, Michael (Oscar Isaac), a brilliant medical student, meets Ana (Charlotte Le Bon), their shared Armenian heritage sparks an attraction that explodes into a romantic rivalry between Michael and Ana’s boyfriend Chris (Christian Bale), a famous American photojournalist dedicated to exposing political truths that shake in controversy. As the Ottoman Empire crumbles into war-torn chaos, their conflicting passions must be deferred while the two men join forces to get their people to safety and survive themselves to get back to their cherished woman. The Promise is written and directed by Terry George, and is rated PG-13 for thematic material including war attrocities, violence and disturbing images, and some sexuality.

At 129 minutes of run time, Terry George’s World War I epic walks a tight rope of entertaining nature between two areas; love and war. After watching the trailer of this movie, you might be steered in an incorrect momentum with the film’s direction, but I was legitimately shocked at how opposite the finished product gears itself towards. For a movie that hints at the love triangle between that of Isaac, Le Bon, and Bale, there’s very little exposition or payoff to that particular emphasis of the story, opting more for the conflicts and suffering that the crumbling of the Ottoman Empire brought these characters. I don’t have any problems what so ever with a film that is surrounded by bloodshed, but there’s so much setup during the first act of this triangle that honestly goes very far or resolves itself accordingly for dramatic syntax. What I did enjoy was that for once these are two equals in male moral stigma, making the female protagonist’s choice, as well as the audience’s that much more enthralling. This gives more pull to the idea of you not wanting to see either one of them broken-hearted. Props to for George, who remains faithful throughout the film in keeping this an Armenian told story of bravery. Through a lesser director, this would easily become Bale’s movie, but Terry keeps the focus right where it needs to be, offering a fresh take of this angle of World War I that has rarely been told on-screen.

The pacing is what will honestly be the biggest negative for audiences, because this is one movie that goes back-and-forth between which conflict deserves the majority of the run time. It feels like an 80-20% ratio in terms of war dominating love here, and because of that we never get the kind of focus on the characters that dilutes their one-note angles. I was right there for the first act of the movie, because there is a strong coming-of-age story here with Michael’s branching away from home on his own. There is a kind of hinted at poetic justice for the idea of this terrible tragedy that has befuddled all of these people, yet life still moves forward for Michael on a road of love-and-loss that pushes him to age that much faster. The second act is where things really kind of halted for my experience. During this time, the setup feels slightly repetitive and even rushed through some notable events that could’ve used more psychological sting on our protagonist. The attitude of the film stays on one level of somber throughout the film. That is expected for war, but not something that gravitates audiences to the story closer. A fine example is in Saving Private Ryan, when despite the war, these young men are still stopping to tell a joke or bust each others chops. That kind of depth in personality felt non-existent here, and due to its lack, this story will drag in more ways that one for you as you push through the second hour of the film.

Props to the production team is evident in nearly every aspect of the visual spectrum of this movie, as HD cameras combine modern medicines in filming to really grasp that epic feel. When reading about this style choice for this film, I worried that it would take away too much of the taste in time, when everything felt weathered and bleak. Thankfully, George is the kind of filmmaker who knows when to pull back, and because so we are treated to some gorgeously infinite landscape shots in the Turkish deserts, as well as a some water sequences that put us right in the middle of this chilling compromise in weather shifts. With an HD camera, the splashing of water can feel authentic, replicating a movement in volume that you can’t help but adore at. There are some shaky transitions in chase scenes, but thankfully the editing covers up a majority of the problem, leaving very little to point out when they happen. For me, it was really the angles leaving slightly more to be desired in the characters that we’re following. Close is always better for suspense, and I have no clue as to why everything was pointed so far out.

I mentioned earlier that the characters could’ve been stronger in the film, but thankfully that didn’t hinder the performances, as this trio of actors never phoned in one aspect to their performances. Bale is one of the best character actors in the world, no doubt. I was slightly worried in the beginning that his wooden release would stick around, but as the film went on I distinctly heard the urgency and vulnerability in his voice that relayed the dire consequences of this situation. Le Bon definitely gives her best performance to date as Ana. In her, we get a woman who loves children, and at times feels like one herself. This aspect gives her performance a compassionate aspect to the movie that we rarely get. It certainly makes it easier to justify why these two men are willing to travel the ends of the Earth for her heart. Oscar Isaac has been one of my favorite actors for a while now, and The Promise is another example of his movie to steal. The transformation for Michael from a once ambitious medical student to a veteran of war who suffers some great losses along the way, played beautifully into Isaac’s hand of emotional distribution, an aspect that never runs low on tears or goosebump-appearing moments. Isaac himself isn’t even remotely Armenian, so the credit to make his accent that much more authentic rests solely on the shoulders of one of the truly most versatile actors of the past decade.

The Promise is a long-winded and often times convoluted screenplay that rarely gives us the answers in dramatic climaxes that we seek to satisfy in such an investment. What does work about George’s ambitious project is that of his leading cast, as well as the camera work in landscapes that easily immerse our imaginations back to a hundred years ago. This is very much a movie of two opposite directions that are never equally distributed, nor never crossing paths to offer a moment of peaking example. Giving us a story that unfortunately doesn’t live up to the grandeur of visual offerings.

5/10