A Lot to Think About

Rating: Null/10 (28 November 2004)

I came away from Alexander conflicted. Much of it was well-done, but not in such a way as to make a strong connection.
The first problem would be the dialogue, which was very overwritten. Give audiences a little credit, they can figure things out quickly. We understand there was tension among the troops when Alexander became immersed in Persian culture and when he invaded India, and we understand Alexander was conflicted about his mother's likely involvement with his father's death, and that he deeply loved Hephaistion, but minutes upon minutes of circular dialogue were unnecessary.
As for the relationship with Hephaistion, it would have been better to allude to it, not because of American Puritanism, but because Alexander's bisexuality/homosexuality is something historians suspect, but do not know. It is a mystery for the ages, as it was in Alexander's time. Worst of all, the Persian eunuch may be the most unnecessary and inadvertently funny characters in movie history. Yes, we all loved the Weird Naked Indian in The Doors, but such a character does not need to exist in all of Stone's movies.
The battle scenes were perfect, everything anyone could imagine them to be, especially the very accurate re-enactment of Guagamella. But it was only one of two. They were among the times when Stone's ambitious style works, along with the entrance into Babylon.
As for performances, Angelina Jolie is my favorite actress, but she could not be his mother, starting with the fact that she is younger than Colin Farrell. An all-out, A Beautiful Mind style make-up job may have pulled it off, but adding some gray and a few wrinkles around the eyes does not work.
Colin Farrell really shone well in the last act, with all the weariness of Alexander in his eyes. One thing the make-up crew did right was giving Alexander and his friends battle scars, rather than have them always looking perfect.
Still, there is one major flaw in Colin's performance and Stone's direction.
Historically, the real Alexander the Great was known for being fearless, or at least he never showed any fear. Alexander in this movie is too vulnerable, too afraid of his mother, his father, and all the images his father showed him in the cave. He is portrayed as a haunted man. He may have been in real life, but no one saw it in him, except in this movie where it is on constant display.
Gladiator, as much as some people out there may tear it apart, was that bombshell of a movie that gave people something they had not seen before, even in the Sword-and-Sandal movies of old. It and Russell Crowe's performance in it are remarkable. The movie Alexander has so much ambition but never quite got to be remarkable. I like it in spite of its problems but I did not love it because of its problems. But I would say it is worth seeing. Love it or hate it, it is a lot to think about.