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Quantum Entanglement, Indian Cougar, Magic Ring - Weird, NOT Wonderful

posted 9 years ago by tim-dalinian-jones
1 reply | jump to latest

If it weren't for Roland Joffé's reputation, I'd have given this low-rated film a miss. Having sat right through it, I rather wish I had.

Caution: spoilers ahead!

What irritates most is the lack of what quantum mechanics and good storytellers have in common: a respect for coherence. There's NO coherent reason (as far as I can see) why The Ring MacGuffin should all but instantly restore full brain function to a person in a deep coma, for whom a 2020 Boston neurologist predicts no chance of recovery - other than "movie magic", of course. What's worse is that Joffé then chucks in a cack-handed explanation of the real phenomena of quantum entanglement, in what seems to be a deeply cynical, Deepak Chopra-like attempt at blinding a science-ignorant audience with an explanation rooted in mysterious pseudoscientific woo woo (other quantum-misappropriating New Age charlatans are also available). To round off this absurd tale, the completely unexplained appearance and disappearance of a contemporary Indian woman, giving away the other half of this magic ring in Boston, just in the nick of time, is one of the most astonishingly intelligence-insulting examples of "movie magic" hand-waving I've ever seen.

What distracted most was the unexplained appearance of an exclusively American big cat - a cougar (aka puma, mountain lion) - as an exotic accoutrement in a C18 Indian palace; and this occurring during a film made in India, Australia and the UK. While exotic pets have often been a way for ruling elites to express their dominance status to the lower orders, the possibility of a provincial Indian ruler acquiring an American big cat by 1778 (when all the while leopards and tigers were locally available) seems vanishingly small.

Wonderful scenery, passable acting, but a risibly incoherent script: 2/10 - and a red flag for future Roland Joffé flicks.

"The climax of the film is baffling, but it’s no stranger than the rest of this bizarre attempt to marry swoon with enchantment. However, instead of evolving into intriguing lunacy, “The Lovers” loses a critical battle with coherency."
~ Brian Orndorf, 3/10
» http://www.blu-ray.com/The-Lovers/423938/#Preview

[–] prafull-ambekar 8 years ago

As an Indian that's one thing I noticed immediately. What's a cougar doing in India in 1774? You are bang on about that. Then about Josh being in a coma and the doctor giving his wife the card to end his life. This is how it would have played in a Bolly movie. The Doctor would approach the family members and somberly state, I'm sorry. There's nothing much any of us can do. Now it's all in the hands of The guy on top. Lo and behold, there's a temple in the hospital, where all the staff and family will gather singing a devotional song with The camera travelling to all the famous temples, Mosques and churches. Nearing end the song will go extremely high pitched, enough to damage your eardrums and all of a sudden the mother will scream, He's conscious. He's alive blah blah blah and they all lived happily ever after.Would you have preferred that?