Disjointed Stone epic

Rating: 5/10 (11 December 2004)

I'm not convinced that audiences were really expecting to view a film based completely on historic fact but I do think that they were awaiting something that had more clarity and conviction. The film starts out in 323 B.C. and the death of Alexander (Colin Farrell) as told by old Ptolemy (Anthony Hopkins) who is dictating his experiences with the former king. Alexander was raised by his snake charmer mother Olympias (Angelina Jolie) and his brutish father Philip of Macedonia (Val Kilmer) although Olympias insists on telling him that his real father is Zeus.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
After Philip is murdered Alexander becomes the new King of Macedonia and starts his crusades of conquering other countries which leads him to proclaiming Babylon as his new home. He talks of uniting the races and even marries a Persian princess named Roxane (Rosario Dawson) which not only conflicts with his mother's wishes but with his Army as well. Alexander has a male lover in Hephaistion (Jared Leto) who accompanies him everywhere from the battle with the Persians at Guagamela to almost being killed in India. It's the battle in India that convinces Alexander to bring his Army home but by this time they have become divided in terms of loyalty and when back in Babylon his enemies await for the opportunity to poison him.
Oliver Stone has once again given us a hugely ambitious project that he obviously has a deep passion for and shows once again that he's fascinated by people in great power. But to be honest, this may be his biggest disappointment to date with his personal views overshadowing the performances of his cast. Farrell is one of the most exciting young actors to come on the scene in years but as far as being Alexander would anyone really follow him into battle? The actor that's arguably wasted the most is Dawson who is so incredibly sexy and strong that you had to wonder why there wasn't more scenes of her and Farrell together. Another area that this fails in is Alexander's sexual relationship with Hephaistion which only consists of Farrell and Leto eying each other with the occasional hug thrown in. The film does better in the battle sequences and the final conflict in India is shot with sharp red tones by Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto. Even though Hopkins is the narrator his mumblings and ramblings don't add any real perspective to Alexander and it also fails to give any reasoning for his thoughts or actions. One can't just dismiss a film like this considering the credentials that Stone carries but he never seemed to get a grasp on the internal motives of this character. This is a disjointed film but it's one that again proves (to me anyway) that Stone is one of our more interesting auteurs.