ALEXANDER II – Colin Farrell
Fast forward to the Battle of Gaugamela (in today’s northern Iraq), where Alexander is discussing war strategies with his generals and counselors. His father murdered by a traitor (Olympias may have had a hand in Philip’s assassination) and all potential rivals to the throne murdered at his command, Alexander has become the supreme ruler of the Macedonian empire, which now stretches all the way to the border with Persia. Without a Macedonian equivalent of Freud to help him sort through his Oedipus complex, his father-son complex, his demigod aspirations, and other assorted neuroses, Alexander has turned into an overachiever who is compelled to go on conquering whichever land he finds in his way. That will keep him as far from Mother’s bosom as possible, while proving to himself and to Father in Hades that he is indeed worthy.
According to Alexander’s own reasoning, however, he keeps on expanding his empire because the people of West Asia and elsewhere need a civilizing hand to free them from their barbarian (read: non-Greek) ways. Obviously, the screenwriters are making an analogy to current U.S. policies in that part of the world, and the script is peppered with reminders that history is (somewhat) repeating itself. Those include Aristotle’s (Christopher Plummer) warning, "The East has a way of swallowing men and their dreams," and Alexander’s dreamily affirmation that those barbarians are ready for "change." (One crucial difference between Alexander and today’s chickenhawks, however, is that the Macedonian king actively participated in the battles, chopping off arms and heads right along with his soldiers.)
The Battle of Gaugamela — impaled bodies, severed limbs, decapitations — is shot with brutal realism. We are offered both panoramic views of the conflict and bloody closeups of the slaughter. Although technically well done (and quite disturbing, when one realizes that so much remains the same in terms of human savagery), the battle sequence suffers from a crucial miscalculation. That is the casting of Colin Farrell, who lacks the necessary charisma to make one believe that all those men would follow him for thousands of miles to risk life and limb in a fight against a much more powerful enemy, Darius’ Persian Empire. Farrell looks particularly out of place when his artificial Alexander of the Great Blond Curls is juxtaposed with the Darius of Israeli-born actor Raz Degan, a good example of a performer who actually looks the part of an ancient king.
As the film progresses, Alexander’s (usually off-screen) achievements continue until he is forced to stop after a disastrous battle in India, but Alexander the movie achieves precious little after Gaugamela. True, Babylon looks incredibly real, and the second and final on-screen battle offers some gruesomely realistic moments of elephant trunks being cut off, plus the usual impaled human and equine bodies. Though hardly pleasant to watch, the Indian battle sequence retained my attention, which is more than can be said for the inane arguments, soulful speeches, drunken whining, and longing looks that take place elsewhere in the film.
The aforementioned longing looks are exchanged between Alexander and Hephaistion (Jared Leto), considered by many historians to have been the Emperor’s one true romantic love. (Others dispute the theory; there is no full-proof evidence either way.) In those moments, Stone is wink-winking at us that those long-haired guys actually do it when they are not on camera. But if that is so, wouldn’t something a little more intimate than a chaste hug be called for while the cameras are rolling? Well, yes, except that this is a costly film, and Stone and his backers would rather not offend all those homophobic ticket buyers. The problem with this reticence is that it comes across as wishy-washiness, which is hardly the type of sensibility one would normally attribute to Oliver Stone. And really, would a kiss between Alexander and Hephaistion disgust bigoted audiences even more than those pathetic "baby-I-love-you-so" glances?
Not helping matters is the screenwriters’ failure to create flesh-and-blood characters out of Hephaistion and Roxane, Alexander’s other love interest. The former is less an individual than a hint to Alexander’s sexuality. Lost in time and space, Jared Leto, all mascara and no role, plays the one-dimensional Best Friend as a smoldering cross between a Malibu surfer and a Valley girl.
As for Alexander’s potential heir-provider, the Bactrian princess Roxane, Rosario Dawson cuts a striking figure whether clothed or naked, but I could never figure out why she, of all Asian princesses, is chosen to be the emperor’s breeding partner. (And what is a black actress doing in the role of a Central Asian woman?) A bizarre Hispano-Finnish accent notwithstanding — "Do you luff heem?" an angry Roxane asks Alexander about you-know-who — Dawson plays the non-role with more gusto than it deserves. (Unsurprisingly, Stone has no problem showing us Alexander and Roxane’s laughably kinky wedding night.)
Having so much ground to cover, Stone and his fellow screenwriters probably believed they should not spend too much time with those supporting characters, but by failing to make Hephaistion and Roxane real people the filmmakers have diluted the psychological essence of their protagonist while robbing Alexander of some much needed emotional depth.
With Alexander, Oliver Stone has missed a $150,000,000 opportunity to create a sweeping psychological-historical epic that would resonate in the 21st century. By not knowing whether Alexander should be a hagiography or a demystifying biopic, Stone leaves one as befuddled as his hero — a shadowy nonentity that is neither god nor human. Curiously, several Greek attorneys have reportedly threatened to sue Stone and Warner Bros. for the filmmakers’ (veiled) portrayal of Alexander as a bisexual ruler. That being the case, those lawyers might want to spend their time doing something more productive than going after a pretentious B-movie that doesn’t quite know where it stands or what it stands for.
Subscribe / Syndicate
Leave a Comment
Tags: Alexander, Christopher Plummer, Colin Farrell, Film Reviews, Gay Interest, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson
Comments
Leave a Reply
NOTE:
All comments are moderated and may take some time before they are posted. Different views and opinions are welcome, but courtesy is imperative. Rude/crass/bigoted comments and name-calling of any sort will be immediately deleted.
Also, please be aware that the Alternative Film Guide has no contact information for the talent mentioned in this blog and no information pertaining to or access to distributors'/producers' film prints.
