A Promise

Despite decent performances, a promising dramatic set-up leads to little of real interest.

The anguish of the lovers' decade-long separation can't be evoked in a matter of minutes ...

The magnetism between these stiff nonstarters wouldn't stick to a fridge, especially when the war-ex-machina forces them apart for years but the only credible passing of time is our own.

This awkward, passionless drama conveys neither the sensuality nor the drawn-out sense of longing required by its period tale of a young secretary who falls in love with his employer's wife.

Though by no means an unbearable watch, A Promise is almost as much an exercise in patience for its viewers as it is for Friedrich and Lotte.

The main drawbacks are the grey decorousness of the pacing and visuals, and Richard Madden's unsympathetically flat playing as antihero Fritz.

Nonetheless, at its best, it has some of the same qualities as Ophüls' [Letter from an Unknown Woman].

When a French filmmaker travels to Belgium to film a German story in English, it's hardly surprising that the resulting movie feels somewhat awkward.

The lack of chemistry between Madden and Hall drains the film of energy and their unrequited longing is often unintentionally amusing.

If you only watch one Stefan Zweig-inspired film this year, watch The Grand Budapest Hotel. If you watch two, see The Grand Budapest Hotel twice. Awful.

A particularly languid, slow-burning period drama.