I can't tell if I was disappointed by the film because of higher expectations of it or if the movie itself lacked the essential spark. A visual feast of a film, with excellent costumes. Despite this however, the movie was lacking in conviction and the characters all seemed to be floating on the surface. The lengthy scenes of chaos (since I want to avoid any spoilers) became tedious. The chaos could have been substantially edited because the point had already been made at the gate, and elaborated upon inside the gate. The lack of editing at various points distracted from the the narrative and compromised my interest in it as a viewer. I thought the film overall was lacklustre with Hypatia's character (Rachel Weisz) doing it's best to bravely hold up the film as well as the poorly depicted characters surrounding her.
Another aspect I thought that made for a disappointing film was the fact that given the high minded pursuit of knowledge on Hypatia's part the film's narrative deserved a different kind of treatment. In my opinion the central idea behind the film i.e. Hypatia's ponderings in the pursuit of knowledge called for for a tighter script which would have lent strength to Hypatia's character. Because her character lacked a basic vitality which made Hypatia's pursuit of knowledge seem like aimless inconsequential wanderings.
I do not think that such a mild portrayal of Hypatia's character, regardless of the reasons for it, is an Oscar-nomination worthy performance as some of the other reviewers have suggested.
Agora is an excellent film demonstrating that the visual appeal of a film cannot make up for it's poor portrayal of it's characters or for moving the story on in a manner that holds viewer attention.
Another aspect I thought that made for a disappointing film was the fact that given the high minded pursuit of knowledge on Hypatia's part the film's narrative deserved a different kind of treatment. In my opinion the central idea behind the film i.e. Hypatia's ponderings in the pursuit of knowledge called for for a tighter script which would have lent strength to Hypatia's character. Because her character lacked a basic vitality which made Hypatia's pursuit of knowledge seem like aimless inconsequential wanderings.
I do not think that such a mild portrayal of Hypatia's character, regardless of the reasons for it, is an Oscar-nomination worthy performance as some of the other reviewers have suggested.
Agora is an excellent film demonstrating that the visual appeal of a film cannot make up for it's poor portrayal of it's characters or for moving the story on in a manner that holds viewer attention.