“Troy” (Warner Brothers)
Homer’s “The Iliad” provides the story for the new Brad Pitt film “Troy.” This movie is a saga about men in combat and the women who love and inspire them. It is Pitt’s most high profile movie to date, and as the warrior Achilles he is at center stage. There is pomp and spectacle galore but sadly it is of the cheesy kind.
The movie is basically the story of Helen of Troy (Diane Krueger). She is the wife of Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) and lives with him in Sparta. This kingdom is visited by two Princes of Troy, Hector (Eric Bana) and Paris (Orlando Bloom). Paris and Helen fall in love and he brings her back to Troy with him and won’t give her up.
This precipitates a war between the Kingdoms of Sparta and Troy which will prove to be the biggest conflict the world has ever know. Achilles is the warrior who fights for Sparta. He is beloved by his men and is in conflict with the nominal head of the troops, Agamemnon (Brian Cox).
The battle sequences are awesome, and the settings are stunning. When the Spartan ships sell towards Troy it is an amazing sight. Plus the walled city of Troy has to be seen to be believed.
The weak link in the film is Pitt. He looks like a golden boy, and he is beefed up for the role. When he is performing athletic feats he is impressive. It is just when he opens his mouth that he is in trouble. His acting skills are pathetic and when he is sharing the screen with someone of Peter O’Toole’s stature the contrasts is skills in totally out of balance.
Pitt also poses his way through the film. He preens, he prances and he pouts. And when he summons his men in to battle it is with an accent that knows no location on earth. It has a tinge of the British in it so maybe that is where he was aiming. But he doesn’t hit that target.
Bloom is supposed to be weak in the film and he plays that part well. His Paris is also supposedly totally enamored of Helen and that ardor Bloom does not convey convincingly. He seems more in love with himself than with this beautiful woman.
Peter O’Toole plays Priam, the father of Hector and Paris. O’Toole looks frail and watery eyed but he still has presence. Just having the camera focus on his face conveys authority.
Bana is the standout actor in the film. He gives Hector dimension which is certainly lacking in Pitt’s portrayal of Achilles. Hector is a man forced to fight a war not of his choosing, but he does it out of loyalty to his father and his brother. When he realizes he could lose his life, his grief over being separated from his wife and son is emotionally conveyed.
The movie is rated R for violence and brief nudity.
Wolfgang Peterson directed the film with a sure hand in the battle sequences but less so in the human part of the story. The handling of relationships is not his forte. He is not helped by James Horner’s wailing musical score. There is even a Josh Grobin love theme sung over the closing credits. And if you thought Celine Dion hammed it up with the “Titanic” love theme, wait until you hear this one.
All of this would be tolerable if you had a charismatic actor in the lead role. Someone like Russell Crowe could have done it justice. But “golden boy” Brad isn’t the right match. He doesn’t make the movie the PITTs, but he comes close
I scored “Troy” a besieged 4 out of 10.
