Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) is a narratologist on a business trip to Istanbul when she discovers an ornate bottle that contains a Djinn (Idris Elba) who offers her three wishes for his freedom. 

Of course being someone who studies the structure and function of narrative she is well aware of stories involving wishes being cautionary tales and is wary of the Djinn’s motives and asks him to share his story. As such we are then treated to three separate tales of his captivity spanning three thousand years, as well as Alithea’s story of course. 

The result is almost an anthology film that is a story about stories and what they mean to humans. 

Personally I loved the stories set in the past and the over the top fantasy like CGI that they were created with. The story is told as a fairytale and the extravagant worlds that are created for them give them an air of something you might see in Grimm’s Fables. Idris Elba makes for a fascinating story teller and is excellent as the Djinn who seemingly is the main loser in this cautionary tale about wishing. 

The only real drawback for me was that Elba and Swinton have little to no chemistry and the idea that they are in love with each other is the most unbelievable thing in this fantastical tale. 

Writer/director George Miller may be more at home creating dystopian Mad Max films but he has created a large scale fairytale with beautiful visuals in this feature.