Review of Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) by Marilee A — 01 Jul 2011

An underrated, witty and humorous film that eloquently narrates the 'special' relationship between Cleopatra and Caesar.

Vivien Leigh and Claude Rains are truly masters of their arts. Leigh embodies a sixteen-year-old queen and manages to convey the sweet and playful girl as well as showing shades of an ambitious and intelligent Cleopatra. Her charming co-star, Rains, portrays a wise, merciful and witty Caesar; Rains shows us the 'visionist' Caesar that history books blab on about.

I have to praise the script, especially the sharp dialogue. You cannot help but laugh when Cleopatra points out Caesar's bald spot and then giggles like a six year old. Leigh underplays Cleopatra's 'sex-kitten' trait, and shows an attention-hungry teenager instead... a teenager with occasional murderous impulses (understandable). So naturally, her relationship with Caesar is not that of lust; he's a wise old man that shows her the poise of a true leader and showers her with the attention she hungers for... and promises to acquaint her with beautiful young men. No wonder she's smitten around him!

This film's not THAT well known because it's not an epic blockbuster, it's simply a story of Caesar and Cleopatra. A companionship, romantic or not, that helped the teenage Cleopatra (that was afraid of being eaten by Romans) grow into Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Cleopatra is not yet 'ruthless' and Caesar is still alive, and apparently that's not stimulating enough for people.

If this film was framed in a visually spectacular frame, it would be a masterpiece. The set fails to express the 'exotic' beauty of Egypt and is greatly out-performed by the marvelous script and performances. Nevertheless the film is paced fairly well (not slow enough to bore you) and is truly enjoyable. Well, I truly enjoyed it and so it deserves an EIGHT out of TEN.

P.S. I hope that Angelina JOLIE and the new Cleopatra script won't omit the teenage queen's playful side; everyone loves to see a powerhouse giggling like a six year old.