Englishmen don't get more buttoned-down than Dr. Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor), a fisheries expert who knows foolishness when he hears it. And to him, the idea that salmon could possibly survive in a river in Yemen is indeed foolish. As he explains to public relations representative Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt), dumping fish into a desert, even with the best intentions in the world, won't work.
But Chetwode-Talbot won't be denied. Her client is a Yemeni sheik (Amr Waked) with a dream: constructing a dam that will make fishing possible. And he needs Jones' help to succeed. Jones, who's trapped in a passionless marriage, isn't much of a dreamer. But can he resist the challenge? Or his attraction to Chetwode-Talbot?
The sheik has another advocate in Patricia Maxwell (Kristin Scott Thomas), press secretary to the British prime minister. Maxwell sees the salmon project as a good and highly promotable story.
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Based on a novel by Paul Torday, "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" is a quirky comedy about the ways in which big plans can lead to big problems, but also result in outcomes that no one could possibly have anticipated. Working from a screenplay by Simon Beaufoy ("Slumdog Millionaire"), director Lasse Hallstrom ("Chocolat") emphasizes romance over politics.
And it's romance that Blunt and McGregor charmingly deliver. With recent performances in "The Ghost Writer" and "Beginners," McGregor is on a roll. Blunt, who was terrific in "The Adjustment Bureau," brings to Chetwode-Talbot an intriguing vulnerability. And Scott Thomas is hilarious as the energetic Maxwell, who's less interested in doing the right thing than in finding the right spin.
"Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" isn't as memorable or provocative as it might have been. But it's an engaging love story that should appeal to moviegoers with a flair for the offbeat.
"Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"
Three stars (out of four) • Rating PG-13 • Run time 1:50 • Content Violence, sexual content and language
