A significant work of art

Rating: 9/10 (31 March 2007)

A work of art must be judged in its own terms. It's fine to say: "300 was not my cup of tea." Certainly! Many people will find it too violent, too loud, too long, too intense, too dark... But to criticize it 'objectively' for, say, not being historically accurate, or for not having deep characters, is to entirely miss what the movie is about. As absurd as criticizing 2001: A Space Odyssey for not being Citizen Kane. Or Lord of the Rings for having "too many elves." (Bravo, Richard Roeper!) Or the Mona Lisa for not having a denser plot...
300 is a visually-powerful allegory. It's a simple, visceral experience, with a simple, eternal message. (You can't conquer someone who has conquered fear.) Why look for anything else? This is a movie that dares to be simple, primal, focused. A film that revels in its excesses. And one that succeeds brilliantly at what it tries to do.
There are many pleasures along the way. The dynamic chiaroscuro observation of characters' features. The play of forms and colors, stripped of their three-dimensional, real-world complexities, reduced to vivid bas-relief. The terse dialog, filled with ironic resonance. Powerful, suitably stylized performances that work synergistically with the extreme visuals, rather than being obscured by them.
Is 300 'realistic'? Of course not! But is it a valid reflection of reality? A distillation of certain very basic truths? An aesthetically pleasing crystallization of archetypal images? Most definitely. Is it a much-needed reminder of something we've all forgotten? Alas, yes. That at some times, in some places (or was it only in fantasy?), men have chosen NOT to submit to tyranny, even when submission seemed like the only 'reasonable' choice. That there IS a higher ideal than today's pragmatic "take the money and run."
Oddly enough, this feels like art that an ancient Greek, transported to the 21st Century, might find both familiar and admirable. In short, a grand and glorious film.