The evidence is on the table – Oliver Stone seems to be going deaf. The first inklings of this came with his documentary on Fidel Castro, where he failed to pounce on any of the ageing dictators lame responses. The clincher though is Alexander. The fact that he let this epic project out onto the screens, with the dialogue as is, can only signify a failing auditory ability on his part.
Things open reasonably well, with an aged Ptolemy (Anthony Hopkins) recounting the story amidst a backdrop of classical splendour, white robes and sunshine. We delve back to Alexander’s childhood almost immediately, with the young prince (a remarkably Farrell like Connor Paolo) and his companions being taught by Aristotle (Christopher Plummer). It’s at this point that the accented nightmare begins: all the youngsters have Dublin accents!
The thinking behind this, one presumes, is twofold. Firstly it allows Farrell to avoid having to put on an accent, allowing him to immerse himself completely in the role. Secondly, it places the Macedonians in the Greek world for us: provincial, unrefined goatherds as Olympias (Angelina Jolie) terms Philip, Alexander’s father (Val Kilmer). An interesting idea in theory. Unfortunately, as half the cast are not Irish, let alone Dubliners, the idea falls flat on its face. We’re scarcely ten minutes into the film when Mick Laley, from Irish soap opera Glenroe, pops up at a horse fair with dialogue along the lines of “Sure t’is a grand horse, fit for a King of Macedonia!”, and Val Kilmer, as if in some Manchurian Candidatesque brainwashing, recites all his further lines in a drunken leprechaun ‘begorrah!’ tone.
Jared Leto, as Alexander’s best 'friend’ Hephaistion, is strangely enough the only one to pull off the trick convincingly. Leto, born in Louisiana, manages to outdub Dubliner Farrell. Mind you, he rarely has to address anyone other than Farrell, so once he has mastered “Alexander” in the requisite accent he’s sorted. Farrell unfortunately has to cope with numerous names that just don’t work with his natural voice – Polyphercon, Leonnatus and Antigonus. In truth, the dialogue was written, it seems, with a classical interpretation in mind, and jars each time it comes across a natural accent.
This is a shame, because that aside it’s not such a bad film. At least not in a world where Gladiator is considered a classic!
We’re given a reasonably chronological view of Alexander’s life, recounted by Hopkins’ Ptolemy (who presumably told the director where to go with any suggested change of accent), who in his twighlight years is attempting to put meaning on the man and his conquests. It’s an epic story with epic stereotypes: a dominating mother pushing her son to greatness and homosexuality (with, obviously, a dollop of simmering incestuous desire); a son striving to win his Father’s respect, going to the ends of the earth to do it. Within these stereotypes there are interesting subthemes, such as the clash between the racism of Alexander’s army, and his own vision of a multicultural, multi-ethnic empire. Alexander’s relationship with his army is one of the more interesting aspects of the film, with its examination of how tyranny grows, and is followed by mutiny.
The film is a triumph from a visual perspective, and we’re not just talking about Angelina Jolie here. The battle scenes are huge, bloody, and realistic (one imagines), and will keep the dreaded 'action fan’ happy. The recreation of Babylon is lush and in stark. The fly in the ointment, as mentioned by more reputable sources than this reviewer, is Mr Farrell’s hair do (The New York Times suggested Farrell was “upstaged by his epically bad dye job”). Sure Alexander was a blonde according to history, so the director is faced with two choices: a) employ the nefarious talents of Hollywood’s greatest special effects technicians to transform Farrell’s hair into a believable version of Alexander’s, or, b) Ignore the historical detail, and let his actor fill the role and make the character believable. Instead, it seems that he opted for employing a blind equine wig maker. That Farrell could have convincingly portrayed Alexander the Great seems reasonable – he is a fine actor. Unfortunately, with unnecessary obstacles put in his way, he hasn’t .
Stone, on a media blitz in Europe, suggested that the film flopped in the States because of its ambiguity, because “we want only clearly defined heroes and villains, no subtleties in between” (interview in The Telegraph). There may be some truth in the notion that a nation at war would take exception to this portrayal of a troubled warrior – and certainly the open theme of bisexuality that runs through the film (and while no physical acts are shown, there are no doubts about the homosexual love between Alexander and Hephaistion) can’t have gone down well in the Bible belt. An equally valid reason, though, for the lack of success at the box office could be simple disapointment. If the film does well in Europe it will be largely due to the fact that in most countries it will be dubbed.
It’s time for Mr Stone to get his hearing checked.