Review of Agora (2009) by Ilse B — 23 Jul 2010

I have been waiting for years to see this film...probably because its stateside release has been spotty and completely unannounced to say the least. But I luckily saw that it was now playing at Kendall Square and figured I'd take my chance. Should have known better.

Hypatia (Rachel Weisz) is a woman ahead of her time. Daughter of the master of the great library at Alexandria, she was spared the drudgery and enslavement of marriage and instead was educated and utilized as a brilliant teacher of astronomy and philosophy. Her pupils - all men - basked in her genius and respected her as an equal. However, the winds of change were beginning to brew in Alexandria, and religious conflicts soon rip the city apart, leaving its reputation as a center of civilization and higher learning broken and tattered. And while Hypatia's innocent musings about the stars are not an imminent threat to anyone, her refusal to bow to the new status quo means that she eventually will not have a place in this bleak world that is created out of the ashes of what once was beautiful. Two men, the powerful socialite Orestes (Oscar Isaac) and the slave Davus (Max Minghella), each strive to win her heart, though in reality it belongs only to science and knowledge.

I know this film is full of messages about religious conflict and herd mentality and women's rights and the risks of giving up freedoms, but none of that comes across very well. What does come across is that it's really depressing to watch two hours of everything good and pure and noble being destroyed, whether it be a building or a person or an ideal. I would also say that the editing and pacing are disjointed and the music and directing a little too involved and obvious. There isn't much to be said about acting, costumes, or dialogue...they all meet the expectation, and nothing more. And the story is just not quite there - it spends far too much time away from what we really care about. There are several exceptionally good scenes, where the emotion and drama are palpable, but they are few and far between and make up less than 10% of the total running time.

Overall, tragic and downright depressing film about the slow decline of Alexandria amid religious conflicts: it lacks the cohesive storyline and even-keeled tone that might have made it good, though a few scenes stand out.