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Nothing Fishy About It

Movie: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Contributor: Hunter
Rating: 8/10
The writers made literally the most boring subject thinkable – fly fishing – and made it actually very captivating, which I think is very difficult to do. (Sorry if I offended any frequent fly fishers, or FFFs for short.) This movie succeeds at turning dull, unique subject-matter and turning it into a well written narrative that anyone in the audience can relate to.

First of all, I'm a huge Ewan McGregor fan, so any chance I get to see movies of his I usually take. It is also impressive to see how Emily Blunt's career has come along over the past few years, and her development with McGregor throughout this movie is wonderful, to say the least. I also probably liked it just because I suffer from internal giggling whenever I hear different English accents. I'm not much of a reader, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed the original novel by Paul Torday.

That said, there are a couple things that kept this from being an amazing or perfect film. The premise of the whole story, as unique as it is, just seems a little silly, and while the set and costume designs were efficient, it was difficult to get into a story that lacked sufficient substance in reality. Specifically, there are a couple scenes that prompt the reaction, "Yeah, like THAT would ever happen!" Still, the way the story was set up led to a satisfying ending.

I don't know about all you FFFs out there, but while this movie did not excite me enough to go fly fishing, it did quench my thirst for good adapted screenplays. Worth watching if they happen to be playing it for free somewhere.

Written May 7, 2013
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