A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Troy

Date Viewed: 5/31/04

Details:

Brian Cox (Agamemnon)

Brad Pitt (Achilles)

Brendan Gleeson (Menelaus)

Diane Kruger (Helen)

Eric Bana (Hector)

Orlando Bloom (Paris)

Sean Bean (Odysseus)

Julie Christie (Thetis)

Peter O'Toole (Priam)

Director: Wolfgang Petersen

Screenplay: David Benioff

Score: James Horner

Score: -

The Review: Brad Pitt as a spoiled brat -- a homicidal spoiled brat -- but a brat and a boor nonetheless, in an epic "inspired" (albeit very loosely) by Homer's Iliad. (In the spirit of presidential debates past: "I've read the Iliad; and you [Troy] are no Iliad!") There is little inspiration and much not to like in this rendition; not really recommended.

As (mis-)translated to the screen, this is yet another glorification of ritual combat, in thrall to the "belligerent Greeks" -- to borrow an overused but likely accurate phrase from Thomas Cahill in his 2003 book-length essay Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea. Contains graphic scenes of violent combat (probably the reason for an "R" rating) whose impact is much reduced when the nature of "justification" is examined. At least in Tolkein's "Lord of the Rings," there was true evil projected, portrayed and engaged. Here it comes across as mere ego, the belligerent ego of an aggressive and oddly nationalistic Agamemnon. There is none of the uncertainty or insecurity visible in Homer's Agamemnon, no balance to character, no vulnerability to engage the audience.

But let us not carp overmuch on Achilles or Agamemnon, since it's much worse than that. The level of scriptorial inaccuracy and general inhistoricity is enormous, and the litany likely much longer than whatever I noticed personally. Most troublesome from the outset is the virtual elimination of half of Homer's cast of characters. The Greek gods are far in the background, peripheral figures reduced to minimal relevance in moving the plot forward. Yes (as Joseph Campbell frequently complained) it is almost impossible to portray actual gods, but Homer made a decent stab at it, only to have Benioff stumble on the drastically rewritten script. Among the other anachronisms and problems:

• placing coins over the eyes in the funeral rites was not Greek in origin ('twas Roman and Celtic), and is not documented in the Iliad;
• the Greek sailing vessels are from the wrong period;
• keep reminding yourself of Troy as an Iron Age city, because the walls will otherwise carry you away into the wrong era;
• the bizarre geography of sunrise from the northwest on the beach in front of the plains of Troy;
• there are far too many horses; yes, one of Hector's epithets may have been "master of horses," but there were too many on the Trojan side;
• Ares was the protecting god of Troy, not Apollo; albeit Apollo was indeed Hector's personal protector.

Sean Bean as Odysseus was well-cast and well-done, the most interesting character on the screen -- a clear embodiment of Richmond Lattimore's title (in his introductory essay to his translation of the Iliad) "the prudent counselor and complete man." I suppose it's possible that Pitt was incredibly well-cast (as a spoiled brat), but his resultant character (and acting) was so uninteresting as to bury any praise that might be deserved. O'Toole as Priam was excellent, and in his scenes with Pitt after the death of Hector, it becomes clearly obvious which of them can really act. Cannot complain about the choreography of the one-on-one combat, however, which seemed quite good: especially Hector and Achilles' final battle. But one final quibble about Hector: to paraphrase Tom Holt, I was... "expecting someone taller."

Good score by James Horner, with a theme suggestive of Rafe von Williams' "Theme from Thomas Tallis" playing over the closing credits.

(15-June-04)

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