Crowe doesn't have the mastery yet to perfect things

Rating: 6/10 (26 December 2015)

'The Water Diviner' is Russell Crowe's directorial debut. It's an ambitious film to start your career with. There is a lot going on in this movie and even a veteran director might struggle with some of the complexities of it all. There are battle scenes, a love story, a family story and an underlying message all being intertwined throughout. For a first timer I thought Crowe did a good job, but for the standard we have come to expect in modern cinema it isn't quite up to scratch.
A lot of the battle scenes just don't come across as convincing and thus lose a lot of their effect. When a master like Steven Spielberg directs a battle scene you buy into it, you feel like you're there, and the movie is much better off for it. The love story is probably the best directed element of the film. I wish it wasn't there, as it really does drag the movie down and make it quite dull for a period of time, but regardless it is well developed and executed. The main story of finding his sons (based on a true story) could have been done better. The reason for doing so, a promise to his wife, wasn't milked enough and really needed to be put forward powerfully so that the audience was always rooting for him in a big way. As it was, the motivation to support him in his mission waned a little at times.
Altogether it's a watchable film, mostly due to Crowe's always fine acting. Anyone interested in war films will be certain to at least get something out of it. It's not Oscar worthy stuff but it is a decent effort for a first try by Crowe. I look forward to seeing if he embarks on directorial duties again and if so just how ambitious he is next time.