Alexander
Who is this Oliver Stone that made “Alexander?” Where’s the Stone behind movies as potent and uneven as “Platoon,” “JFK,” “Natural Born Killers,” and “U-Turn?” He’s in there somewhere, just beneath the surface in this epic about the legendary Alexander the Great, who- we are told- by 25, had conquered the known world.
His iconocalstic world view- singular among modern filmmakers- can be seen in the best moments of Colin Ferrell’s performance as Alexander. His bombastic tendency towards overly pompous statements- evident in both his best (“JFK”) and worst (“Natural Born Killers”) movies- is seen in Anthony Hopkins’ Ptolemy, who narrates the story of Alexander in flashback. His pension for conspiracy theories and paranoia around “visionaries”- uh, hello “JFK”- is there, both in story and in the warnings of Alexander’s mother Olympus (Angelina Jolie, equally seductive and over-the-top in the role).
But aside from the occasionally wild-eyed moments of Ferrell’s performance- which are too few and far between (Ferrell- in his performance, not as an actor- lacks that intensity needed to bring Alexander to life as a character of mythic preportions, a la Mel Gibson in “Braveheart,” Viggo Mortensen in “Lord of the Rings,” even Russell Crowe in “Gladiator”), the only moments of Stone in full-blown live-wire mode as a filmmaker come through in the epic battle scenes, one of which- the battle against the Persian army at Gaugamela early on- is only marginally better than the battles in “Troy,” the other of which- a forest battle in India that even includes Alexander taking on an elephant- is among the most visceral sequences of Stone’s career (Alexander’s trek through India in general is a highlight in Stone’s career).
The rest is typical epic biopic/battle cliche, with the refrences coming from all fronts, be it by way of a Scottish freedom fighter (“Braveheart,” the film’s most obvious inspiration), the Roman Colloseum (“Gladiator”), a Japanese power struggle (Kurosawa’s “Ran”), an enigmatic explorer (David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” is in here too), even Middle Earth (“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, the new standard-bearer in cinematic warfare). And if that weren’t enough, “Alexander”- saddled with a grand, but mostly uninspiring, score by Vangelis (whose “Blade Runner” score is a landmark)- lacks the storytelling focus of “JFK” in its’ muddled, meandering screenplay, which is more concerned with his conquests of the rest of the world than exploring the psychology of an overbearing mother, a flawed, but inspiring, father (Philip, played with conviction by Val Kilmer), and a romantic life that includes both male (Jared Leto’s Hephaistion) and female (Rosario Dawson’s Roxanne) lovers.
The Oliver Stone I know- or I should say, the Oliver Stone I prefer (whose flamboyant visual style is even muted in “Alexander”)- would know where the most compelling of those two stories lies, and not shy away from exploring it. I don’t know this one.
**Author’s Note: As I write this on 12/17, some of you may be curious to wonder how I could write a review for a movie I fell asleep during (yes, I did indeed fall asleep during “Alexander” my first time seeing it, but not out of boredom, out of exhaustion). Well, I saw it again last night to see what I had missed (which was indeed a lot). Every movie deserves its chance, right? That’s why you’ll never hear about my walking out of a movie.**
