Painfully dull, pretentious, and obtuse. James Ivory (with late partner Ismail Merchant) has made some great movies over the years; this is not among them. Indeed, as a longtime Merchant-Ivory fan, I'd have to say this is probably the weakest of his films I've seen, completely lacking the charm of "A Room With a View," or the depth of "Remains of the Day," or the bravura performances of "The Golden Bowl." Omar Metwally simply is not a strong enough actor to carry this movie; he's way out of his league with everyone around him (except poor wooden Charlotte Gainsbourg; when they share a scene the result is painful to watch.). I suspect the original novel was simply too precious to bring out Ivory's grand touch; an unfortunate choice of material.
Review of The City of Your Final Destination
