Bisexual but also qualitatively in the middle

Rating: 6/10 (3 January 2005)

If this was Oliver Stones "dream-project" then I guess we were lucky that he was awake when he made his masterpieces like PLATOON or JFK.
The brilliant and innovative camera-work of NATURAL BORN KILLERS seems ages ago when you look at the out-of-focus orgy here (yes, I went to the projectionist and complained). And not just that. There is no doubt that cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto has delivered beautiful pictures in AMORES PERROS or 25TH HOUR but it also makes sense that the cameraman of 21 GRAMMS isn't the right person to do shoot a blockbuster-epic. There are hardly any establishing shots and ever since GLADIATOR someone thinks its good just to shake the camera through battle-scenes so no one sees whats going on.
Along with that, Alexander is like a play with a few characters showing only two of the hero's many battles which would be interesting but then the story is told much to fragmentarily and leaves way too many gaps.
The great plus tough is that Colin Farrel portraits a bisexual hero and despite all the fuss from conservative Greek lawyers it totally works fine and is the rare example of showing a gay character not as either a funny sidekick, a wimp or a problem child but as a strong leading man.
And the film definitely deserves credit for that.