For their first Plan B production, Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston decided to create an epic. "Troy," based on the classic epic poem "The Iliad," has all the ingredients necessary for a blockbuster. But is it a classic? Well, I think it is safe to say that my kids will never see this film.
But it can still be fun and entertaining, the beginning of this year's endless number of summer films. It may be a big one. It has everything anyone could ever want, except perhaps incredible depth and scintillating dialogue.
The stars are indeed beautiful. Topping the charts is, of course, the breathtaking Brad Pitt. Close on his heels are German model Diane Kruger (Helen), Orlando Bloom (Paris), Rose Byrne (Briseis) and Eric Bana (Hector). The film has many more lovelies, but I do not have time to mention them all.
It also has exciting and suspenseful fight scenes, and enough gore to keep people engaged and wincing. But the real pull of "Troy," especially on the Dartmouth campus, is the story. People want to know what direction director Wolfgang Petersen will take, and what will be the same or different compared to Homer's take.
Clearly, Hollywood's version of an ancient epic will be slightly different, but in what ways? The trick is that you have to see it to find out! Do not worry; you probably will not be disappointed.
Selfish and vain Achilles is done well by Pitt, and his initial departure from his bed -- accompanied by two women (I told you it had something for everyone) -- in the first scene was very similar to how I would imagine him exiting his limo for a little trot on the red carpet. But then Achilles' temperament is not too far removed from a movie star's persona. Achilles' lust for fame is well portrayed in "Troy."
Peter O'Toole, necessary for every epic, plays Priam. He is well done as Troy's charmingly frail-but-regal king -- a perfectly sad and helpless witness to the fall of his city.
Also, surprisingly, Orlando Bloom stretches his wings a bit as Paris, a comically childish and not altogether likeable character in the movie. His portrayal as a weak and amorous adolescent type is laugh-out-loud funny, especially when compared with his stoical and responsible older brother Hector.
Eric Bana quickly draws the audience to his side in his graceful depiction of Hector, one of the few moral characters presented in the film.
The female characters do not really have the chance to shine in this film, though Saffron Burrows touchingly plays a destined-to-be-heartbroken Andromache and Kruger and Byrne try to make something of their limited and overly dramatic roles.
As for the message of the film, it does not fail to accurately display that the Trojan War was simply a manipulation of others for political power. Agamemnon is never at any point in the movie shown as anything but greedy, and the audience will always side with the disdainful goddess-born hunk Achilles over the powerful but demanding king. Helen's face may have launched a thousand ships, but Agamemnon's avarice certainly kept the Achaeans on the beaches of Troy.
Furthermore, this idea is reinforced in Achilles' obsession with achieving immortality by becoming a legend. The Greeks are not fighting for any ideological reasons; they are fighting for power and glory. Screenwriter David Benioff's dialogue does not let the viewers forget it. Patriotism has no meaning when Agamemnon is choosing to have his country fight only for supremacy and not for any particular offense, but instead for what Achilles deems the only thing that every man wants -- more.
But the themes of "Troy" will probably not make or break it as a blockbuster hit. What may is the pull of curiosity. Adaptation saved many of the major Homeric characters, without marring them too badly. However, certain liberties are taken with the plot. Suddenly, Briseis is a character and not just an object passed from the Trojans to Achilles to Agamemnon. Murders are added, important points are erased. It could be viewed as a travesty, but I write it off to Hollywood. After all, Homer could not be present to write the screenplay. Plus, in typical pop culture style, cameos are added! I do not want to give it away, but a certain epic character whose name begins with an A pops in near the end of "Troy." I hear a sequel! It is still amusing in its own way.
My final diagnosis? Okay, okay, do not run to the Nugget and do not expect "Troy" to win Best Picture come next February. But go ahead and indulge yourself. See someone else's perspective on "The Iliad," or just go to enter a world of exclusively beautiful people. Be gentle with it. Do not expect a masterpiece and you will have a good time.
