The Water Diviner

Many actors yearn to become directors, and some—like Russell Crowe—have the clout to raise the requisite financing. In his somber debut, Crowe stars as Northern Australian farmer Joshua Connor, who lost three sons during the WWI battle of Gallipoli in Turkey in 1915. After his grieving wife commits suicide four years later, Connor embarks on a tortured quest to find his sons' remains. Connor is a “water diviner,” meaning he has a knack for finding underground water using dowsing rods. Drawing on that mystical ability, Connor is certain that he can locate his fallen sons amidst thousands of unmarked graves. Arriving in Istanbul, he's rebuffed by the British military but befriended by the young son of a Turkish widow (Olga Kurylenko) who runs a local hotel. She finds brawny Connor attractive but her brutish brother-in-law is persistently trying to make her his second wife. Admiring Connor's dogged persistence, an Australian official (Jai Courtney) and two Turkish officers (Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz) aid him in his quest, despite the ongoing war with the Greeks. The implausible, often incoherent screenplay explains little of Turkey's enduring feudal history, while the inclusion of a romantic subplot never stirs the viewer's emotions. Characterized by abrupt action beats, Crowe's muddled direction lacks pacing, and the melodramatic flashbacks of the Gallipoli bloodbath grow repetitious. Optional. [Note: Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (22 min.), “The Battle of Gallipoli” retrospective (8 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a muddled film.] (S. Granger)