The Greek Myths are still Relevant

Rating: 8/10 (30 May 2004)

Contains spoilers
The great historical epics that were so popular in the fifties and early sixties were one of my favourite types of film, but they all but disappeared from the screen after the financial failures of 'Cleopatra' and 'The Fall of the Roman Empire'. The few examples made in the seventies and eighties, such as the Richard Gere 'King David', have been largely forgotten. The success of 'Titanic' in the late nineties (confounding many critics who had been preparing their 'sinking ship' metaphors in anticipation of its failure) showed that it was still possible to make films on an epic scale, and I recall wondering at that time if this would pave the way for a return of the historic epic. With first 'Gladiator' and now 'Troy', my question seems to have been answered in the affirmative.
Criticisms of 'Troy' for being 'historically inaccurate' or for not slavishly following the plot of 'The Iliad' miss the point. Since the days of ancient Greece, every succeeding age has taken the legends of that civilization and used them for its own purposes, starting with Virgil who took the story of the Trojan warrior Aeneas and used it as a foundation myth for the Roman Empire. This film, which reinterprets the legend of the Trojan War for the twenty-first century, is merely the latest example of this. Historians and archaeologists have long debated whether the story is based on actual events. There is, moreover, no single version of the legend. Homer's epic is merely the best-known version of it, not the definitive one. Homer, for example, merely makes Achilles and Patroclus close friends; the idea (not followed in the film) that they were homosexual lovers comes from later versions of the tale.
Although Homer was himself a Greek, his poem was not simply Greek propaganda. He tried to be even-handed between the Greeks and the Trojans and to show good and bad on both sides. The film, however, dispenses with even-handedness and tells the story from a viewpoint sympathetic to the Trojans. The Greek leaders invade Troy for a mixture of self-interested motives; the romance between Helen and Paris is just a pretext. Agamemnon is only interested in power and wealth, Menelaus in avenging a slight to his honour and Achilles, at least initially, in the selfish pursuit of fame and glory. The Trojans, particularly Hector, are idealised, shown as fighting a just war in defence of their country.
The most prominent theme in 'Troy' is that of love- not just love between a man and a woman, although that is obviously an important part of the story. The film also explores love for one's family, love for one's country and love for God (or, in this case, for the gods). The two most unsympathetic characters, the brothers Agamemnon and Menelaus, are the two who have no love for anyone or anything except themselves. Menelaus does not love Helen; he wants her back because losing his wife to another man is a blow to his pride. Agamemnon takes Briseis from Achilles not because he loves her, or even because he desires her sexually, but simply as an expression of his power. By contrast, the noble warrior Hector loves not only his wife Andromache, but also his country, his family and the gods. The best of the Greek kings, Odysseus, is also a disinterested patriot who loves his wife.
Achilles, the film's central character, is a special case. The Achilles we see early in the film- arrogant, petulant and bloodthirsty- is no more sympathetic than Agamemnon or Menelaus. It is only later that we see a softer side to his character in his grief over the death of Patroclus (in the film his cousin) and his love for Briseis, as he comes to realize that there is more to life than killing people for the sake of one's glory. When Achilles dies we feel a sense of loss; when Menelaus and Agamemnon are killed, this is shown as being their just reward for their villainy. It might, in fact, have fitted in well with the film's theme if Achilles and Patroclus had been shown as lovers, although this would obviously have required considerable rewriting of the Briseis sub-plot. I doubt, however, if either Hollywood or his female fan-base are yet ready for a gay Brad Pitt.
The acting in the film is rather mixed. Diane Kruger looks splendid in the key role of Helen, but she has a struggle to express any emotion in what is all too obviously not her first language. This is unfortunate as the script portrays Helen as a passionate, independent-minded woman, not merely a tool in the hands of men. Brad Pitt also has his difficulties with the even more important role of Achilles. Although he is fine as Achilles the tender lover, he is less convincing as Achilles the fearsome warrior. In his hands the wrath of Achilles seems more like the petulant tantrum of Achilles- one of the film's less happy departures from Homer.
Most of the other performances, however, were excellent, particularly Eric Bana as Hector. Bana succeeds in the difficult task of portraying a good man without making him seem priggish. Hector, who fights bravely in a just cause, is truly heroic, unlike Achilles who is merely fearless. Hector's death in their climactic duel is the one truly tragic moment in the film. His scenes with Saffron Burrows as Andromache are characterised by a gentle tenderness, which contrasts with the more turbulent passion of Paris and Helen; there is a suggestion that it is the former rather than the latter which is the surer foundation for relationships between men and women. Of the other characters, I particularly liked Peter O'Toole as the tragic and dignified Priam, Brian Cox as the cynical and devious Agamemnon, Sean Bean as the pragmatic but decent Odysseus and Brendan Gleeson as Menelaus, the sort of blustering bully who tries to hide his true nature under a veneer of bluff heartiness but who becomes dangerous when crossed.
The battle sequences are well done, even if they do not quite measure up to those in 'Lord of the Rings' or 'Gladiator'. The film as a whole was a worthy addition to the historic epic genre, and an interesting updating of Homer which touched on the very modern themes of imperialism, patriotism, the 'just war', the nature of true heroism, the ethics of revenge and relations between the sexes. The Greek myths still have relevance even in the twenty-first century. 8/10