2 of 4

The Ptolemy-as-narrator device also allows Stone to glide past the references to Alexander's more massive acts of brutality, in order that the rest of his film can dwell on that side of Alexander which appreciated foreign cultures. And here his reasons for casting Colin Farrell become clear. Unlike Richard Burton, who, no surprise, had the belligerent drunken arrogance thing down pat, Farrell—who, despite his bad-boy persona, has never really made much of an impression onscreen—has relatively few moments of pointed anger. His Alexander is a much more sensitive character, who spends much of his time either making goo-goo eyes at his male lovers, or trembling and whining about his victimization at the hands of his abusive, negligent father and his domineering, manipulative mother.

Historians aren't in agreement about Alexander's sexuality, but Stone has chosen to portray him as bisexual—and at least some historians would agree with that picture. The film depicts a love relationship between Alexander and his best friend, Hephaistion (Jared Leto), but there are no actual love scenes; as noted above, there's some mushy eye contact and talking about their love, but that's it. (There is a scene where Alexander kisses a man, though it's not Hephaistion.)

Angelina Jolie as Queen Olympias

Alexander's sexual preferences aside, he's also depicted as a sensitive warrior. Even his two big battle scenes—one against Persia, the other against India—are portrayed as personal, emotional defeats, even though his army itself was never defeated.

Ah, but those battle scenes are something to behold. The battle against the Persians, full of chariots rushing by and units marching in formation through great clouds of dust, is one of the finer setpieces of its kind, and Stone wisely restrains himself from using the sort of swooping computer-animated aerial shots that have become a cliché since The Lord of the Rings. Rather than show off by bringing us down right into the hand-to-hand combat, Stone uses the technology to give us a sense of scale and a sense of where things are; he even makes significant symbolic use of an eagle that soars over the combat, so that we literally get a bird's-eye-view of the terrain. Stone also undermines another cliché—the rousing speech delivered by a commander on horseback—by pointing his camera and microphone away from Alexander at times; whether this signifies Stone's inspired refusal to rouse our bloodthirst the way Alexander rouses that of his troops, or whether it signifies a cynical belief that we don't need to hear the rationalizations for the bloodshed, just so long as we get blood and guts and plenty of it, the viewer may decide for him or her self.

Alas, the women don't come out of this film looking all that good. Jolie, faking a sort of east-European accent—which is kind of pointless, since Farrell doesn't quite tame his Irish brogue, and at least one of Alexander's generals sounds distinctly Scottish—is constantly seen playing with her snakes, and because it's the certifiably freaky Jolie playing the role, you may wonder if this was written in the script or if the snakes are just pets that she brought to the set straight from her trailer. Then there is Rosario Dawson, who fakes a sort of South Asian accent as Alexander's first wife, Roxanne; while Alexander seems to prefer the company of men, he does realize a woman might be useful for producing a son and heir. But despite Stone's efforts to make Roxanne look "feisty," and thus strong or powerful or whatever the times demand, Dawson has little to do but expose her body for the film's wedding-night scene. The high dramatic point for both actresses comes when their characters grab some open doors, fall to their knees, and scream really loud.

next page... |  2 of 4