It is probably no accident that the title of this film uses a verbal pattern identical to that of “,” that is, definite article, adjective (a specific kind of adjective, actually—a demonym), descriptive noun. Like “The English Patient,” “The Ottoman Lieutenant” is a tale of war and of love torn apart by war.
The simple title has an air of mystery too it, whether you understand “Ottoman” to refer to a member of a disbanded empire or to a padded stool.In the case of the movie, it’s the former. Said Lieutenant is a handsome, more-solemn-than-dashing fellow named Ismail Veli , who meets plucky American heroine Lillie just as she’s stepping off a ship, from which she’s just seen the most breathtaking view of a CGI period Istanbul you could ever imagine. Lillie, up until shortly before this point a nurse in a Philadelphia hospital, hemmed in by overprotective parents but still, you know, plucky, has ventured abroad on a mission. Her medical career stifled by her unstintingly progressive beliefs, she resolves, after attending and being inspired by a lecture by Dr. Jude , the co-head of a medical mission in Anatolia, to donate a truck and medical supplies to said mission. In person.Advertisement.
This threw me for a loop, but even had it not, the progress of the then-taboo Muslim/Christian romance of Ismail and Lillie is handled in so perfunctory a manner as to leave me completely indifferent. Which is strange. The movie’s direction, by, is as cogent and confidently paced as anything the director of “” and “” has done.
The Ottoman Lieutenant Cast
Stockwell’s script, which continues to lay eggs like “This is not a request. I am ordering you to free these people” is a big part of the problem, but there’s also a fatal lack of chemistry between the romantic leads.
As for odd man out Hartnett, the most distinctive thing about his presence here is that when he wears Dr. Jude’s wire-rimmed spectacles he looks rather like young. As for Kingsley, he appears disinclined to do more than deliver the material that’s been given to him. Can’t say I blame him.