Review: Exodus: Gods and Kings
is a grand epic of spectacle, built around the changing relationship between
two brothers and impressive visuals.
The
film is about Moses and Ramses. Pharaoh Seti found baby Moses abandoned in a
basket along the Nile river, deciding to raise him as his own along with his
natural son Ramses. The two brothers grew up as princes, relying on it other in
battle and life; however, as the brothers come into their own, Moses learns
about his past – that he is actually of Jewish decent (a downtrodden people who
are greatly abused as slaves by the Egyptians) – a truth he refuses to believe.
Once Pharaoh Seti has died of illness and Ramses becomes leader of Egypt,
enemies of Moses expose his secret. Always slightly fearing Moses’s power and
the love his father showed him, Ramses ceases the opportunity to banish Moses.
Far from Egypt, Moses struggles to accept the truth about himself and the new
mission his people’s god has anointed him with – to set the Jewish people free
in Egypt. Moses, now with newfound purpose, returns to Egypt to do just that,
but Ramses will not make it easy on him.
Director
Ridley
Scott’s biblical epic feels very similar to his other religious epic Kingdom
on Heaven. Exodus: Gods and Kings features impressive visuals, a massive
scale and scope and very good central performances. Yet, like Kingdom of
Heaven’s theatrical release, which was gutted of most of its character moments
in favor of a shorter runtime, this film too seems to lack needed character
moments for its supporting cast. Moses and Ramses have their moments, and the
story does serve them well, but no one else is really given much to do (while
the film still runs for around 150 minutes), leading me to believe that this too
was streamlined for its theatrical release and somewhat expect a fuller, longer
version of the film to be released for home consumption – keeping the runtime
under a certain length allows the film to screen more times in a day, which
theoretically translates to more box office, at the expense of creative
expression/integrity (because Hollywood moviemaking is a business first, and
that is especially true for massive blockbusters like this film). It is just
too bad, as the film would have played a lot stronger with its supporting
characters fleshed out and overall narrative given time to breath, allowing the
emotion and drama to be more fully realized. As it is, the film works solely
thanks to its impressive aesthetics and great leading performances.
Even
at 150 minutes, the film is paced rather briskly (presumably thanks to much of
the extra dramatic meat being cut out of Scott’s initial version). Time passes
in chunks in between scenes in many instances, requiring viewers to pay extra
attention or lose their place.
Scott
is a very skilled filmmaker, and that is clear again with Exodus: Gods and
Kings. Aesthetically, the film showcases the stark juxtaposition between the
wealthy Egyptian lords and the impoverished slaves – possibly drawing
comparisons to the ever-widening wealth gap in the western world (let alone the
rest of the world). Some fear that if the struggling classes ever really found
out how the very wealthy live, there would be a revolution. Maybe that sounds
dramatic and far-fetched, but history shows us that it has happen again and
again throughout time – this film detailing one of the most famous (along with
its overlying religious aspects).
Scott
takes a very evenhanded approach to religion in Kingdom of Heaven, treating
Islam with respect and fairness, when many films focus more on the negative
factions (something that seems to tinge many, if not all, religions). Here,
Scott is less so. The Egyptians are portrayed as many villains are in many
films of this nature – entitled, ambivalent and uncaring. The slaves are just
that, not deserving a second thought. The slaves are a subspecies in their
minds, existing only to benefit their interests, and thus do not deserve the
same rights and freedoms. When the Jewish god unleashes the plagues upon the
Egyptian people. They are bewildered, refusing to accept that this god is more
powerful than their own, that these people should be set free. Ramses sees
himself as a god on Earth. He just cannot accept that to be untrue, as it
crushes his whole way of life, his whole belief system. The brisk pacing does
not give Scott the opportunity to explore the Egyptians any further, leaving
them mostly as seemingly out-of-touch, arrogant villains – even though there
are certainly strong hints that Scott intended much more depth.
The
portrayal of god in the film, as a young boy, is an interesting choice. In the
story, god must do great and terrible things to the Egyptians. Things that seem
cruel and viscous, but they are done because the Egyptians (and Ramses) just
will not accept the truth of the circumstances, because it goes against
everything they believe. I think Scott chose god to be seen as a small child to
juxtapose the terror he must rain upon the Egyptians with the innocence of a
small child. Although, at the same time, young children can also be the most
cruel and vicious when left to their own devices. Without societal pressures
and laws obstructing them, children have been shown to act sometimes without
compassion (think of the classic example: Lord of the Flies), exhibiting our
natural tendencies for survival, stronger oppressing the weaker. A childlike
god, though capable of love and compassion, might also act when angered with
unabated rage and cruelty.
In
many ways, Exodus; Gods and Kings is a disappointing film, as Scott’s films
always have so much promise (based on the great works of his past). It features
all the ingredients to be something special and yet it is lacking – namely in
dramatic weight and fuller supporting characters. Scott does do a good job with
the central drama of the film, as Moses and Ramses are fleshed out and their
narrative is compelling, but everything else feels incomplete – and it probably
has do to with the film being revised down from its original longer version for
theatrical release. As I said above, it is too bad. But, hopefully, the film as
it was initially intended will be released later (as Kingdom of Heaven and Blade Runner’s
director’s cut eventually were).
Technical, aesthetic & acting achievements: Ridley
Scott makes fantastically impressive visual films. Exodus: Gods and Kings
follows in that tradition. Visually speaking, it is quite entertaining on a
spectacle level with a grand scope and scale. Scott also garners very good
performances as well, and this too is true of this film. Despites the film’s
commercial and critical failings, I do hope to see Scott’s director’s cut at
some point (assuming it is released) and his next film The Martian,
coming next year.
On a
quick side note, with Exodus: Gods and Kings and Noah. It
is interesting to see biblical stories being portrayed in a darker manner, stripping
away some of the overly rosy arbitrage and getting right at the heart of what
is actually transpiring. In each story, god’s actions directly result in the
death of thousands (millions in Noah’s case) of people. The films do not just
focus on the justification of these actions (be them teaching humanity a lesson
or helping his people find freedom) but also on the gravity of the actions,
which is much more compelling.
Back
to the aesthetics, composer Alberto Iglesias
provides a score for the film that tonally fits well and captures the flavor of
the time and place. Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski’s
photography is very good, as he uses mostly a more washed out color palate,
which too fits the darker tone the film has. His work, along with production
designer Arthur
Max’s (whose sets, as always, are brilliant), also highlights the striking
economic differences between the Egyptian lords, who are covered in clean
whites and gold jewelry, inhabiting expansive homes, and the slaves, who are
packed in dirty, crowded, cramped environments. The Egyptians are all very manicured
and without facial hair (assuming I remember correctly) while the slaves are
bearded and somewhat unkempt. Interestingly, Moses has a beard from the start,
but it is much more groomed than any of the slaves’ beards. As he comes to
accept his place among them as their leader, his beard becomes more unwieldy.
There
are quite a few name actors in the film who have had their roles essentially
cut out due to most of the supporting character work and excess drama being
taken out. Aaron
Paul, Sigourney
Weaver and Ben
Kingsley almost have nothing to do in the film (outside of a scene, here or
there). Indira Varma,
Maria Valverde
and John
Turturro are good in small supporting roles. Ewen Bremner
plays a scientist of sorts in the Egyptian court, explaining the logic behind
the plagues, assuring that they are not acts from an angry god. He is just
fantastic and goofy in the small role. Ben Mendelsohn,
also in a small role, playing the corrupt Egyptian Viceroy Hegep, who outs
Moses to Ramses, is wonderful as well. He is so smarmy and slimy. He is a great
character actor – one of the best currently. Joel Edgerton
is very good as Ramses, bringing the right mix of entitlement, compassion and utter
bewilderment about what is happening to the role. In lesser hands, Ramses would
have been a one dimensional, boring villain, but here he is a full character. Christian
Bale is excellent as Moses (as he generally is in everything he does). He
is able to convey the heartbreak of his deteriorating relationship with his
brother and the pain of finding out the truth about himself. The scenes with
god could have played as being a bit odd, Moses conversing with a young boy,
but Bale plays the scenes with complete commitment. Despite the gutting the
film seems to have gone through during its final edit, it still works thanks in
most part of Bale’s great performance.
Summary & score: Exodus: Gods and Kings lacks
emotional and dramatic depth, and yet it is still an entertaining, visually
compelling and overall solid epic due to Ridley Scott’s fine directing and
strong central characters (and great leading performances), overcoming its
shortcomings. 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment