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Alexander
Release Date: January 7th 2005
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Certificate: 15
Starring: Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Anthony Hopkins, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson, Christopher Plummer
Director: Oliver Stone
Running Time:
175 mins
Alexander The Great is one of the most famous warriors in history. Detailed information about his life is scarce, but history does record that he conquered armies and defeated anyone who stood in his way en route to becoming the most powerful ruler in the world. This new film, directed by Oliver Stone, looks deep into the life of Alexander (Farrell), and attempts to distinguish between the warrior and the man.
Alexander The Great was the son of King Philip (Kilmer) of Macedonia and his wife Olympias (Jolie). King Phillip had already started to build up a powerbase in his land, taking what had been a poor neighbour state to the civilised Greek world, and then expanding to become its ruler. Alexander meanwhile was being brought up to follow in his footsteps. He was tutored by Aristotle (Plummer) and put into training to become a King and General in his own right. And he did not disappoint.
Alexander began leading armies into battle at the age of just sixteen, when he launched a campaign to rid Asia Minor of Persian rule. After succeeding in the Western provinces, he then continued, though his army was greatly outnumbered, following the retreating forces back and taking on the massive Persian army itself. Again, he claimed a great victory. Suddenly, Alexander was in control of an huge Empire, but this was not enough for a man driven by incredible ambition, and determined to prove himself in the eyes of his unyielding father. And so he continued into more bloody battles, winning victory after victory all over the known world, and amassing over 90% of it by the time he was 25. His Empire reached past the snowy peaks of the Himalayas into India, and down into Africa. It was a power base the like of which no one had seen before, nor have they since.
As a warrior he was unrivalled, but as a man he was vulnerable and cruel in almost equal measure. This film does not shy away from dealing with the more difficult side to Alexander’s character, taking an honest look at his relationships with his mother and father, his confidante and General Ptolemy (Hopkins), his wife Roxanne (Dawson), and his lifelong friend and lover Hephaestion (Leto).
This Oliver Stone film is a modern classic. Whilst remaining loyal to the truth of the character, and to the morality of the times, he has also managed to make a film that is hugely entertaining and provides another example of why the epic has become the action movie of our times. Colin Farrell puts in a superb performance as Alexander too (once you get used to his blond hair!), that is sure to put him in contention for a Best Actor nod at the next Academy Awards®.
