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Today, 13 October 2008

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Yesterday, 12 October 2008

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Out of 5:

‘Alexander’ the Great? Not quite.

Granted, it’s a visually stunning film of epic proportions — huge battles, exotic locations, marathon duration — that’s certainly not lacking in ambition.

It is an Oliver Stone project after all.

But, like the title character in his latest film, Stone’s ambitious streak is often his undoing, the maverick director simply stretching himself too far.

So, instead of providing a cohesive look at the life of one of the most successful military commanders of the ancient world, he’s dished up a laboured, disjointed melodrama that could do with a bit more spark.

But, while it’s more like a triple history lecture with a doddering professor on a Friday afternoon than a majestic historical epic, after nearly three hours we know frustratingly little about the man Alexander the Great. This, even though Stone has chosen to concentrate more on the character and his inner turmoil than his military and diplomatic achievements.

Focusing on isolated moments from his life, tenuously held together by a bland voiceover from Anthony Hopkins, we learn that little Alex was a brave boy (watch him tame a wild stallion when nobody else can) who was heavily inspired by the teachings of Aristotle (lesson: “all people are equal”).

His mother (the wild, dominant Olympia — think Angelina Jolie circa 300 BC) also played a big role in his early (and later) life, teaching him that he was like Achilles (lesson: “It’s better to burn out than fade away”) and that his father was Zeus, Apollo, or anybody but Philip, her estranged husband.

We also learn that Philip, King of Macedon, was a distant father figure, that Alexander loved his best friend (Hephaistion) more than a little, married a woman (Roxane) who reminded him of his mother, was a pretty good military leader and diplomat (“all people are equal”), and had a few insecurity issues.

Oh, and that during 12 years as the King of Macedon his empire expanded from Greece to present-day Pakistan, Afghanistan and northern India.

But all these personal trials and tribulations play out like a soap opera, hampered by clunky, stilted dialogue. Exhibit A: “In you lives the light of this world. Your companions will long be shadows in the underworld, when you will be the one, forever young, forever inspiring — never will there be an Alexander like you — Alexander the Great.” Not exactly the way people speak.

The hammy acting — especially from a blond Colin Farrel (Alexander) and Rosario Dawson (Roxane) — doesn’t help either, with the pair providing what must be the year’s most embarrassing sex scene. Our Alex even roars…

It’s but one of Stone’s heavy-handed attempts at symbolism, the director intent at showing us that Alexander was like a lion, and his life had parallels with Greek myths.

But obvious as they are, the devices aren’t a remedy for the weakness of Stone’s script, which should have detailed one portion of Alexander’s life rather than tried to gloss over everything.

So, although ‘Alexander’ may be more historically accurate than other sandles ‘n sand epics like ‘Gladiator’ and ‘Troy’, it lacks their cohesion and impact — not to mention sheer entertainment value.

And those apparently groundbreaking scenes displaying Alexander's attraction to men, aren't exactly daring, limited to lingering, supposedly smouldering, stares at a freaky servant or Hephaistion (Jared Leto looking like a 1980s rock god).

Yet, for all its flaws, Stone’s picture is typically glorious to look at. The two token battle scenes (which don’t do much to help the flagging pace) have all the visual flair you’d expect from the director — the first conveying the outright confusion of mass battle, the second filmed with a beauty that contrasts the carnage onscreen. And the lavish sets, especially the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, match those of ‘The Lord of the Rings’, which is no mean feat.

But Stone lost the plot, literally, when it came to the story — and the characters — that was meant to hold it all together. His film may be a visual feast, yet that’s not enough to hold your interest for three hours — and avert those thoughts of that triple history lecture on a Friday afternoon.