The Eagle of The Ninth –
MIA In Hollywood
The Eagle (2011) 114
minutes
Director: Kevin Macdonald Screenplay: Jeremy Brock
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Mark Strong, Donald
Sutherland
"There are only two American novelists who should be
grateful for the movies made from their books. I am one of them (for Slaughterhouse-Five). The other one? Margaret Mitchell, of course."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Palm Sunday1
When it was announced, several years ago, that Hollywood was
embarking on a feature film adaptation of Rosemary Sutcliff’s YA novel, The
Eagle Of The Ninth, there was cautious
optimism that a much beloved book would finally give viewers a more authentic
vision of the Roman Empire than heretofore had graced the silver screen. There was good cause for hope.
The creative team of director Kevin Macdonald and writer
Jeremy Brock had just received well deserved accolades for their film The Last King Of Scotland, and although the myth of the Ninth Legion’s
disappearance had long since been put to rest, Sutcliff’s novel told a rousing
story that seemed perfectly suited to the big screen.2
Casting announcements and early on-set photos sounded notes of caution
concerning authenticity, both to history and to the source novel, however it
was the decision to change the film's title from Eagle Of The Ninth to simply The Eagle that sounded the clearest alarm. Why change the title? Now, having seen the film, the answer
is obvious: This is not The Eagle Of The Ninth.
Without resurrecting the entire Film Vs. Book argument it is
important to note that Sutcliff wrote what is essentially a mystery novel in
which subtlety and detail are critical, while Macdonald has made an action film
where movement and brute force are the order of the day. Beyond the broad outlines of the plot
and the character names there is little of the novel in the film.
This is not to say that The Eagle is a wholly inadequate film, for it is not, and yet
in making his action film adaptation one has the impression that Macdonald
missed the essence of the novel.
Missing too are the wit and the intelligence of both the story and the
characters. Sutcliff was writing a
story of reconciliation, of acceptance, of redemption, of honor lost and
regained, and of the common humanity of all. The film touches on some of these themes but with seemingly
little understanding and even less heart.
Indeed there is hardly any room for humanity when there is so much
action to fit in.
If Book Vs. Film arguments tend to be fruitless, then the Film
Vs. Historical Accuracy comparison is equally troublesome, particularly for The Eagle, and almost from the first frame.
The film begins with a printed preamble telling us of the
Ninth Legion’s march north to oblivion.
This is followed by a second title card that begins: “Shamed by the lost
of the Ninth Legion, the Emperor Hadrian built a wall …” While “The function of
the wall continues to be hotly debated” to claim that it was built out of a
sense of shame over the loss of one legion is an exaggeration.3
The ancient sources suggest that
there was no clear defensive or offensive
ethos, but rather a range of
opinions. More importantly they
make it clear
that the Romans were more concerned
with power than the physical occupation
of land, and dealt with political
entities, states, kingdoms and tribes.
The Roman Empire extended as far as
the Romans were able to make
peoples do whatever they desired
or, perhaps more accurately, deter them
from doing anything which the
Romans did not want them to do.4
Beyond these larger issues, the historical accuracy of The
Eagle is, as with most films set in the
ancient world, a hit and miss affair.
While the Costume Designer, Michael O’Connor, has an impressive list of
period film credits, this appears to be his first set in the ancient world. On the other hand the Military
Technical Advisor, Paul Hornsby, whose area of expertise seems to be World War
Two, has worked on two noteworthy films set in the ancient world: first, as a
stunt man on Alexander, and then as
the senior military advisor on The Last Legion. The
results of their efforts here are mixed.
To their credit, Macdonald and O’Connor do convey, more
convincingly than many recent films, the professional discipline of the Roman
Army. The effort to rescue the
Roman prisoners being held before the gates of the fort is a case in
point. The Romans favored an
“active defense” and would often attack out of a fort under siege to turn the
tables on the besiegers.
In the film, Centurion Marcus and his rescue party are
instantly set upon once they exit their fort. The Romans adopt the testudo formation and work their way
through the attackers to rescue their fellow Romans. It is at this point that the Britons spring their trap and
attack with chariots. The Romans
retreat toward their fort, but it quickly becomes evident that the chariots will
overtake and slaughter them.
Realizing this, Marcus turns to face the on rushing chariots and,
finding a previously thrown pilum lying on the ground, proceeds to stop the
enemy chariot attack with a well-aimed pilum. The fact that the Roman pilum was
specifically designed to prevent its reuse in this manner is perhaps a minor
point, for the scene does show quite well just how effective this signature
Roman weapon could be, and more to the point, it is an exciting sequence.
Likewise, the use of pitch in the moat to create a wall of
fire to protect the fort makes for exciting cinema but dubious history and
likely falls into the Ridley Scott School of History: How Do You Know This Didn’t
Happen? You Weren’t There.5
It was said of Akira Kurosawa that the battles in his films
were confused without being confusing.
That is a rare gift and although the battles in The Eagle are excitingly choreographed, the use of medium to
tight close-ups almost to the total exclusion of any wide shots limits our
vision of the entire scope of the battle.
The director is attempting to give us a “you are there” feeling, but in
doing so he does not use the full canvas that a cinema screen offers.
Costumes are standard issue Hollywood Roman, with bracers
all around, lots of leather segmentata, metallic rather than painted shield
emblems and a rather eclectic array of helmets. While his helmet looks pretty good, Centurion Marcus wears a
muscled cuirass instead of chain mail.
Impossible? No, but
unusual, for as Graham Sumner points out:
It
is therefore somewhat ironic to discover that not a single example
[of
muscled cuirasses] from the Roman period has ever been recovered.
It
was often believed in the past that cuirasses could have been made from
molded leather, this would
certainly account for the lack of surviving evidence.
A more likely explanation is that
despite their popularity with sculptors,
who depicted all classes of Roman troops wearing them, they were as far as one can
who depicted all classes of Roman troops wearing them, they were as far as one can
tell
the exclusive preserve of the senior officers.6
More egregious is the depiction of the Seal People.
Here Macdonald is standing on firmer creative ground for
there is, essentially, no historical ground.
Since the history of the Picts has
been described by the historian Michael Lynch as “a mystery story with few
clues and no satisfactory ending”, Macdonald has a fairly free rein in
recreating his ancient tribe; but he is determined to be as authentic as possible,
with the tribesmen in the movie all speaking Gaelic.7
For the Seal People, the film’s main antagonists, Macdonald
has adopted a look very reminiscent of the North American Mohican tribes,
though painted gray and wearing both seal skins and bones. This is all fine and good, and while
the use of Gaelic may not be completely accurate, it does work to differentiate
the Romans from the Britons. This
same linguistic strategy was used in Centurion where it worked equally as well.
More problematic are the actions of the Seal People, and in
particular the killing of a young member of the tribe. Without giving anything away, the scene
is used to give the audience proof that the Seal people truly are barbarous and
smacks of the AVS (African Village Scene), so common to Hollywood films.8 This
is yet another unfortunate departure from the book, which went to great lengths
to depict the tribes north of the Wall as real people, but is in keeping with
the action film formula.
There has been much carping about the acting, or lack there
of, but on the whole the cast performs well enough, but not outstandingly
so. Macdonald has cast Americans
as the Romans (in the speaking roles at least) to further emphasize the divide
between the Romans and the Britons.
Although some of the line delivery is flat, the film does seem to come
alive whenever Donald Sutherland is on screen. He brings a level of natural ease and humanity to his
character that the other actors seem unable to. This may be due in large part to Sutherland’s long years and
experience as an actor, allowing him to rise above the material.
Also, it should be noted that in keeping with Goldsworthy’s
First Law Of Hollywood Romans: There Shall Always Be Gladiators – Even When
The Story is Not About Gladiators, we are
first introduced to Jamie Bell’s character, Esca, at the local arena where he
is matched against a gladiator in a fight to the death. This scene does appear in the book, but
is played there quite differently and far more effectively. In the film Esca refuses to fight and
submits himself to death.
Sutherland’s character salutes his courage but is dismayed that a slave
would be matched against a gladiator.
This is an odd sentiment considering that gladiators were slaves. Interestingly, the protagonist in Neil
Marshall’s film, Centurion, was
the son of a gladiator, further confirmation of Goldsworthy’s 1st Law.9
As with last year’s film about the Ninth Legion, Centurion, the look here is dark, featuring a somber color
palate of blues and grays with few exceptions. In both films much emphasis is placed on the rugged beauty
of the Scottish landscape, though Centurion does make better use of it.
In the end, the real question is: Should you spend your time
and money on this film?
This film will do well enough with the target demographic of
10 – 29 year olds. There is plenty
of action and the story moves along swiftly enough to hold their interest even
when they are waiting for the next battle scene. Macdonald manages to put a lot of action and production
value on the screen despite the film’s modest budget. Not as graphically violent as Gladiator, parents can feel
safe letting their teenagers watch this film.
On The Other Hand…
If you are a fan of the book then you are likely to be very
disappointed. Likewise, if you are
a fan of films set in ancient Rome, The Eagle will serve, but only just.
Indeed, for the price of a pair of tickets you could easily purchase the
DVD and enjoy the film in the comfort of your own living room. Like Centurion, The Eagle will likely enjoy its biggest success as a DVD rental or purchase.
Notes:
1. From the introduction to the book Palm Sunday. http://www.vonnegutweb.com/faq/index.html
2. For an explanation of what happened to the Ninth Legion
Hispana and the debate surrounding this myth of its disappearance see Duncan B
Campbell’s excellent article, The Fate Of The ninth, in Ancient Warfare
Magazine, Volume IV, Issue #5. You may down load the article here: http://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/cms/component/content/article/16-ancient-warfare/ancient-warfare-articles/65-the-fate-of-the-ninth.html
3. I am recalling these quotes from memory so please excuse
the rough paraphrasing.
4. See The Complete Roman Army by Adrian Goldsworthy, c2003,
ISBN: 0-500-05124-0, the chapter Frontiers pp 152-161 and in
particular the section on Hadrian’s Wall pp 157-161.
5. Scott elucidates his approach to history in the audio
commentary on the Gladiator Director’s
Cut DVD.
6. See Roman Army Wars Of Empire by Graham Sumner, pp 62-63
for his observations on the muscled cuirass. This is one of several excellent books by Sumner on the
uniforms worn by the Roman Army, and it leaves one to question if the film’s
costume designer did any research at all, as the correct information is so
readily available. It is very
likely the case that in fact he did and may even have gone to the costume
rental house with this information in hand and every intention of “getting it
right.” However, he may well have
discovered that the stock of available costumes fell far short of the ideal,
but short of having new ones made, getting costumes that were close, though not
perfect, was the only financially reasonable course left open to him.
This does not, of course, explain the use of bracers. As there is no evidence that the Roman
Army ever used these then why go to the trouble of including them? Perhaps it is the case that without the
bracers the audience might not recognize the soldiers as Roman.
7. From the article, Kevin Macdonald Will Bring To Film
Pre-Celtic Clash Of Cultures by Magnus Linklater in the Sunday Times of August
3, 2009.
8. Russell Means, founder of AIM and a featured actor in the
film Last Of The Mohicans, coined this
phrase while working on that film.
Means was appreciative of
director Michael Mann’s sensitive portrayal of the native tribes, but
objected strongly to the inclusion of the scene at the Algonquin village where
the British officer is burned alive.
He called it the film’s “African Village scene” that though dramatic,
was not historically accurate.
In the same way the killing of the young member of the Seal
People by their leader is both gratuitous and unnecessary. It is included not only to assure the
audience that the barbarians truly are barbarous, but as a motivation for the
character of Esca to side with the Romans. However, by this point in the film, Esca has made common
cause with Marcus and has cast his lot with the Romans. He needs no further motivation, and yet
the director feels the need to give him a good sound moral reason for hating
the Seal People.
9. Adrian Goldsworthy mentions this quirk of Hollywood films
about Rome in a lecture he delivered at the Kansas City Public Library in
2009. A link to a podcast of that
lecture may be found on the KC Public Library web site.
This review was first posted on the Ancient Warfare Magazine website in February 2011.
(c) 2011 by David L Reinke
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment