Essentially a two-hander, Three Thousand Years of Longing is a disappointing telling of a philosophical fairytale as a lonely scholar is given three wishes.
In Istanbul for a conference, the flat-shoed, flat Mancunian accented academic, Alithea (Tilda Swinton – I Am Love, Michael Clayton) picks up a glass bottle from the bazaar. Cleaning it reveals a Djinn (Idris Elba – Thor, Beasts of No Nations) who grants her three wishes in return for his freedom. Being the academic she is, Alithea takes her time.
As they ponder and discuss the three things Alithea most desires, the Djinn recounts his life with director George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road, Babe) creating a world of short fantasies to accompany its telling. From the Ottoman Empire to present day London, Three Thousand Years of Longing is a homage to love. But it’s all a little flat, wordy and unengaging with little chemistry between the two leads.
Rating: 51%
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