Muddled epic

Rating: 4/10 (29 May 2004)

SPOILER WARNING
There have been much discussed about the film's adaptation of Homer's epic poem about the battle at Troy. Artistic license aside, I think it is unfortunate that the very points of departure from Homer's lyric poem, and indeed from much of the oral stories of Greek lore, is precisely what makes this film sadly muddled and surprisingly lacking in epic catharsis.
First of all, one of the main themes of Homer's poem was the futility of the mortals in second-guessing the rather diabolical and playful natures of the Gods. This theme, served to underline the fatalistic sense of impending doom and the mortals' hunger albeit futile race toward immortality prevalent throughout the Iliad. This drives both Achilles' and Hektor's hubris in defying the Gods. Without this underlying sense of existential futility for which the mortals fight for, and the mischievous shenanigans of the Gods, the film fails to capture the epic tragedy of the humans' quest for freedom (and immortality) under the whims of the Gods, and their inevitable fate.
Achilles' main characteristic - as one embodying both mortal and God, with a rather beautiful history of having been dipped in the river of immortality (except for his heel), being excised, just reduces him to... the rebel without a cause - the unwilling hero driven only by ego without context.
More out of character is the film's depiction of Hektor. Hektor is Troy's best fighter. He is also a brave and valiant hero. By anticipating Achilles' victory over Hektor in the film, the film minimizes Hektor's own capacity to be fiery, brutal, outlandish, arrogant, hotheaded and indeed the portrait and inspiration for Shakespeare's Hotspur in Henry IV. Hektor goes down fighting fierce. Bana's Hektor is way more introspective.
Added to that a rather difficult (and in this film unsurmounted) characters of the lovebirds Paris and Helen, complete with stilted, unconvincing and in fact annoying lines, the film just falls too short of true conflict with genuine cathartic emotion.
The relationships in the film fall surprisingly flat, opting for messy battles completely devoid of the poetry that made Homer's 800 page bloodbath so beautifully horrifying. A key moment in the film and poem, the dragging of Hektor's defiled body around the grounds of Troy before his horrified father and wife, is curiously abridged (the poem sees Achilles dragging the corpse around for days before he is slain by Paris while on his chariot) and as a result, surprisingly hollow when it should be sacrilege. Such is the tone of the film that fails to match up to the poem's epic proportions.
Such is the catharsis that Homer offered his listeners - epic battles poetically described, themes underlined, pain vested and characters rich and intertwined. This failure is surprising, since Aristotle once wrote the very 'rulebook' of the well written play (or in this case, screenplay) that Hollywood has adopted whole heartedly in its 'formula' screenplays. exposition- conflict, turning point, catharsis and denouement. The film fails to deliver on any of this with any aplomp or relish, given such rich material to draw from. Disappointing.