To crudely summarise how the My Brother the Devil director Sally El Hosaini has chosen to adapt the story of Syrian refugee turned Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini, one could easily go to her soundtrack choice: the loud, anthemic radio pop of Sia. There’s little room for nuance or subtlety in her music, she wants you to feel big emotions in a big way, and there’s equally little room for either here, a Netflix drama that plays more like a Disney sports movie.
Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that formula, and there are few harder narratives to resist than one of an underdog done good, but El Hosaini, working with a script from the acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Jack Thorne, finds herself going for the broadest strokes throughout, which gives her film the feel of a slightly anonymous Hollywoodisation, efficient in parts but ultimately lacking, a film aiming to be liked by everyone but loved by no one.
