I’d describe myself as an existential nihilist who finds comfort in the fact that the universe, our galaxy, the solar system, planet Earth and all the life found upon it is the product of a great cosmic accident that can or may never be replicated. I also (perhaps begrudgingly) appreciate the role that religion once held in our society before the formation of the welfare state which took education, health care, employment, financial welfare, social services and civic responsibility away from the educated holy minority and put it into the hands of the larger democratic community. Up until the twentieth century we would have found it hard to get by without religion and the superstitious belief in an all-seeing all-knowing deity that gives and takes life away without reason. In reality it’s the world around us that gives and takes life without reason… and that world is more callous than any vengeful god could ever be. There are so many factors that change our environment and atmosphere and effect our ecology and climate and these factors may change at random because of the way our planet and environment interacts with itself. I’m of the belief that there is a god of sorts, but it’s teachings are to be found in science books, not in religious texts.
But I don’t say this as a cynic out to offend, I’m far too open-minded and laid back for that.
If you take a casual walk around any significant religious building and breathe in it’s architectural magnificence you’ll realise that the people who built them really believed in God and in their religion. I mean they really believed. And so I admire that passion and truly respect that for many people religion isn’t just a fanciful notion and an easy answer to the mysteries that surround them, it’s something that drives their lives and pushes them to do great things.
Those great things can be good but unfortunately they can also be bad.
Kingdom Of Heaven is about when it drives us - all of us; of all faiths, even athiesm - to be bad. It’s a soap opera on an ambitious scale which sadly falls short of what it seemingly sets out to do: which is to create a possible final sobering word on misguided faith. It succeeds in it’s moral journey by presenting a thoughtful and balanced opinion on the positives and negatives of having a faith that may lead a person to take up arms, but it undeniably fails in it’s acting and storytelling aspects.
Ridley Scott believes that the secret to having a good relationship with your actors is in the casting – if you cast the right actor in the right role then their skill and talent will work for you and there will be little need for your interference and direction. The cast which Scott has assembled for Kingdom Of Heaven has let him down mortally and what needed to be a character driven film has become a pantomime skit more ridiculous than the type you’d have to sit through during the festive season. In fact it’s one Widow Twankey away from being comical.
Our heroes want to fight for innocent people, rather than for a god, but for the audience who rarely get to see these beloved people or get to know their plight the film becomes sort of a struggle. We only see the plight of royalty, of the privileged and of a band of self-righteous knights throughout which, as a group of protagonists, are hard to relate to and root for. Next to the unwise casting choices this is the film’s biggest failure.
But amongst the ridiculously dastardly villains, absentee heroes and the pompous speech-making provided by the eager-to-please screenplay there is a beautifully crafted film just aching to be rescued. It does well to recreate sprawling battle hordes that otherwise would be hard to imagine by just reading a history book. The terrifying sights and sounds of medieval wartime logistics are all here to marvel at on screen. Scott succeeds in not turning his effects laden scenes into CGI showreels and brings a sense of heart-stopping realism to key moments that would surely have been exploited by other filmmakers. There’s a restraint on show that’s worthy of great praise.
But Kingdom Of Heaven is let down in core places that unfortunately cannot be rescued. As mentioned above it’s failings began in the casting of it’s leaden, pantomime leads who seem to be in the wrong movie altogether. Jeremy Irons, who I usually love so dearly and often lament his poor career choices, seems bizarrely unable to convincingly portray a human being. He affects no accent that I can discern or any attitude that is particularly telling – he just growls about the place in a manner which is as stiff and wooden as a crucifix.
Kingdom Of Heaven wants to be emotional but lacks an invaluable investment in real people. There are all the surface signs of a story and of characters and of a narrative arc, but that unquantifiable magic of emotional attachment is missing. It may have all seemed right on the page but it’s execution is surprisingly lazy and presumptuous.
Basically, everybody should have tried harder.
This could have been so much more had the right pieces been in place from the start, but they weren’t and so we’re left only with something that could have been great like the hopes and dreams of a holy man waging war in a far off land thinking an intangible spirit will bring him glory.
This is a wounded victory.
3/5
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