Review of Agora (2009) by Lewis C — 20 Oct 2010
Whenever I hear the words "Christianity gone amok" I'll think of AGORA, a plaza in the 4th century where this story takes place. There's too much going on here so the movie is unfocused: christianity, Jews, paganists, library, astronomy, philosophy, loyalty, slavery, sex (but not fully realized).
The good news is that the set designs, CGI, and costume designs are first class. Rachel Weisz seems to specialize in complex roles requiring attention--don't mistake her for just a pretty actress. Max Minghella (son of late Anthony Minghella) is a smoldering actor who captures the screen (e.g. "The Social Network"). The movies seems to cast other beautiful hunks like Oscar Isaac and Rupert Evans who looks like Brad Pitt in "Troy.".
It doesn't add up to much so the movie drags. Ashraf Barhom as a rebellious Christian is the closest to a movie villain but we don't even witness his demise just the corpse. I'm not sure if we should blame the editor. The movie has bits of dramatic tension but the following scene is completely different. There's lots of symbolism but not enough emotional investment in the characters or action to really care.
This review of Agora (2009) was written by Lewis C on 20 Oct 2010.
Agora has generally received positive reviews.
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