The Promise may not be getting as much coverage as superhero flicks, Wonder Woman or Guardians Of The Galaxy 2, but it looks set to make a significant dent with its dramatic pre-First World War setting and heroic story line. Directed by Terry George, who’s previous big screen successes include In The Name Of The Father and Hotel Rwanda, it brings together Oscar Isaacs and Christian Bale to lead the cast, alongside French Canadian actress Charlotte le Bon.
It didn’t manage to pick up great reviews following its premier at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2016, but the trailer (below) looks fairly promising, so maybe it just had a tough crowd on the day. However, there has been some controversy in terms of aggregated reviews, due to the film’s coverage of the Armenian genocide, which makes it difficult to read too much into them.
Release date
The Promise has been scheduled for a UK release date of the 28th April 2017, following on from its arrival at the US box office a week earlier on the 21st. It’ll be out in the UK on the same weekend as Guardians Of The Galaxy 2, so it’s definitely going to have a lot of work cut out for itself to compete with the big budget sequel.
The Promise trailer:
Story
The plot takes place in Turkey in 1914 as World War I is just about to engulf the planet. The Ottoman Empire is clinging to the last vestiges of its former glory and wheels are in motion for horror and devastation on a massive scale. In the midst of all this, Armenian medical student, Michael Boghosian (Isaacs) arrives in Constantinople on a quest to bring his medical expertise to his ancestral village in the south of the country. When he meets photo-journalist Chris Myers (Bale) and Armenian artist Ana (le Bon) the three become entwined in a love triangle.
However, when the Ottoman troops side with the Germans in the war, the darkest of dark days consume the country as ethnic minorities are targeted in the violence that ensues. Thrown together in a bid to survive the nightmare, the three must seek an escape route out of the country, but find themselves drawn into the battle to save lives.
Cast
In addition to Oscar Isaacs (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) as Michael, Christian Bale (The Big Short) as Chris and Charlotte le Bon (Yves Saint Laurent) as Ana, the cast also includes Daniel Giménez Cacho as Father Andreasian and Shohreh Aghdashloo (Star Trek Beyond) as Marta. James Cromwell (Big Hero 6), Abel Folk, Andrew Tarbet, Angela Sarafyan, Armin Amiri, Marwan Kenzari, Igal Naor, Garen Boyajian, Kvork Malikyan, Numan Acar, Roman Mitichyan and Rade Šerbedžija (The Double) add to the cast. There are also minor supporting roles for Jean Reno (Léon: The Professional) and Tom Hollander (Taboo: Series 2).
Production
Terry George directed the film, which he co-wrote with Robin Swicord. Eric Esrailian, Mike Medavoy and William Horberg have produced the film with director of photography Javier Aguirresarobe, production designer Benjamin Fernandez, editor Steven Rosenblum and costume designer Pierre-Yves Gayraud.
First impressions
The Promise looks like a sweeping and dramatic epic, covering one of the most harrowing periods of history in Europe with a lot of skill. The review controversy clouds things a little, but from the look of the trailer, the strong cast and Terry George overseeing it all, we’re inclined to say that this may well be worth adding to your to-watch list, alongside Guardians Of The Galaxy 2.
