Not much in this film beyond potential

Beyond Borders

Starring Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen

Directed by Martin…

Beyond Borders

Starring Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen

Directed by Martin Campbell

Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie (“Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”) stars in this romantic adventure about a woman caught between the safety of London society and the desire to help in war-torn third-world nations. While the film has its heart in the right place at moments, ultimately, “Beyond Borders” buys into audience expectation, leaving the viewer unsatisfied.

When Sarah Jordan (Jolie) meets renegade doctor Nick Callahan (Clive Owen, “Croupier”), she is motivated by his passion for relief work in such hotspots as Africa, Cambodia and Chechnya. Leaving behind a husband and children, she follows Nick into the wilderness where she finds love and a world where work matters.

Over the course of 10 years, we watch as Sarah struggles to find her place in the world: does she belong with the man she loves, or with her family? While the plot is loosely woven and largely unbelievable, for the first hour, it serves to convey the fact that these nations are real, struggling and need help. Watching Sarah live separate lives in London and poorer nations, we are given the impression that it’s not modern society that matters, but the struggle against poverty and war.

Jolie’s Sarah is cold and remote in London, a mere shell of the woman we see in Africa. Her romance with Nick gives life and passion to a world of poverty, while the coldness of her marriage helps to isolate the viewer from the world they know. London feels fake, as well it should.

The second half of the film loses this motivation, as director Martin Campbell tries tying up the plot neatly. The focus shifts from the contrasting of two societies to the love story of Nick and Sarah. Had the plot been more believable, this may have been an acceptable course for the film to take. However, because Nick and Sarah’s story is poorly constructed and hard to follow, it discredits the rest of the movie. If we can’t believe in their love, can we believe in the world presented by the film?

Campbell continues to distract from the film’s earlier message by closing the film in London. It’s here where Nick ultimately finds hope, leaving the audience to feel that the reality of Africa, Cambodia and Chechnya was merely a dream. It is modern society that’s real. What could have been a powerful plea for action becomes a statement that it’s acceptable to buy into modern society – how much difference can one person make, anyway?

Though the acting throughout is believable, and at moments, the cinematography is truly beautiful, a poorly constructed plot and misguided direction leave this potentially moving film at merely mediocre.

“Beyond Borders” opens in theaters Friday, Oct. 24.