Movie Review: Three Thousand Years of Longing

Three Thousand Years of Longing, the latest from Mad Max and Happy Feet director George Miller, is a visually pleasing but strangely lifeless ode to fairy tales.

Tilda Swinton stars as Alithea Binnie, a professor of Narratology who, on a trip to Istanbul, comes into possession of a magic lamp containing an imprisoned Djinn (Idris Elba). Though the Djinn is desperate for Binnie to make three wishes, Binnie would much rather hear his life story.

The bulk of Longing is devoted to an anthology-like telling of the life of the Djinn. Three thousand years ago, he was an advisor to the Queen of Sheba as she was courted by the magician Solomon. Later, he witnessed the rise and fall of Suleiman the Magnificent, his heir Mustafa, and their descendant Murad IV. At the dawn of the 20^th century, he became infatuated with the young scientist Kefir in Istanbul.

These short pieces of fantastical historical fiction are kept engaging by the circuitous and often unpredictable ways in which they ultimately arrive at the same end – the Djinn’s imprisonment. Less engaging, however, are the portrayals of the historical characters. Despite excellent casting, no one from the Djinn’s stories is explored in any real depth. Doubly disappointing is the fact that real depth is alluded to often: Murad becomes a power-hungry warlord who can only be pacified by well-told stories; his brother, Ibrahim, is locked away in a pleasure-prison to produce a male heir; Kefir is brilliant, but as a woman, she is subject to repressive customs of 20^th century Turkey.

This lack of characterization of side characters would be excusable if Elba’s role were strong enough to carry these stories. But even the Djinn is relegated to a side character in much of his own history.
Any of the stories featured in Longing could be incredible. As they are, they’re little more than OK.

In the present day, Binnie is generally content with her lot in life, wanting for nothing. While for the purposes of narrative, this obviously cannot be true, Swinton sells it well. Binnie is established quickly and efficiently but denied many opportunities for growth. When at a pivotal moment Binnie expresses her love for the Djinn, it feels less like an organic development, and more like a necessary mark of the checklist of plot points.

It doesn’t help that Swinton and Elba, both playing incredibly dry characters, have no chemistry to speak of.

Despite its lacklustre storytelling, the visual style is distinct and explosive, rich in golds and reds. Between the costuming and the light creature-makeup, Elba is visually arresting in every scene he appears in.
The cinematography by John Seale produces beautifully-framed shots of things as mundane as a shopping cart, or as grandiose as ancient palaces. Combined with Margaret Sixel’s editing, the film is often captivating to look at, with plenty of fascinating match-shots and transitions.

Longing is technically impressive, with plenty of images that stick in the mind long after the film has ended. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to say the same about the story or characters.