Five out of five to whoever had the job of pitching Salmon Fishing on the Yemen. The bestselling novel which it takes its name and story from, has to have one of the dullest titles of any book of recent years.
And to be honest, on paper the premise doesn’t exactly sound all that “dope either. Emily Blunt is attractive posho Harriet Chetwode-Talbot who works at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and who actively seeks to introduce (there is no other way of putting it really) salmon fishing to the Yemen. She has her motives: namely that she is representing a super wealthy but benevolent sheikh who wants the fish there for reasons of his own. Trouble is, noted fish expert Fred Jones (McGregor) is dead against the idea. Because the Yemen is warm. And the environment is unsuitable. For fish. See? I told you it sounded boring on paper.
Yet guess what? The film works. Blunt and McGregor are both excellent. Although he seems initially emotionally retarded, Jones, who is stuck in an unhappy marriage, comes across as a genuinely sweet man while Blunt, whose character has a boyfriend in Afghanistan, continues to display all of the star quality with which she has recently been wowing Hollywood.
Kristin Scott Thomas is also memorable as a foul mouthed, sharp tongued, chain smoking press adviser to the PM: a sort of female version of Malcolm Tucker from The Thick of It. Some might be alarmed by the words “hilarious turn from Kristin Scott Thomas. In fact, it’s a shame she’s not in it more.
There are two special features, one a promotional “making of, another about the author of the book, Paul Torday. A good film then, perhaps a bit silly in places, but remarkably, whether you like fishing or not, it’s never dull.
Overall Verdict: Picturesque, charming and funny. A hard film to dislike
Special Features:
Making Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Featurette
The Fisherman in the Middle East: Novelist Paul Torday Featurette
Reviewer: Chris Hallam