Movie review – “Agora” (2010) ***

Christians have rarely been depicted less sympathetically than in this tale of Hypatia, the female philosopher who lived in Alexandria in the 4th century AD during the dying days of the Roman Empire, who's become popular with novelists and playwrights during recent years, with her beauty, intelligence and martyrdom due to female independence. The story is terrific, full of conflict and drama - it's basically about the clash between the pagans and the Christians, with the latter especially coming across as a bunch of fanatics (though not without a good side).

This did feel it had something missing at it's core emotionally. Although Rachel Weisz is good as Hypatia - beautiful, believably intelligent - her refusal to commit to anything else other than her studies means she comes across a little cold. I'm not talking romance I mean she's not attached to any causes, either. She spends most of the film looking at circles in sand and thinking of theories, while all this religious drama is going on.

It looks sensational, and there is some terrific historical recreation which I'm prepared to take the filmmakers word for being accurate - it feels accurate. This was a Spanish film and the actors look Spanish (or are), even though they speak English - this feels more realistic than most movies set in Ancient Rome, which normally use English actors. Love things like the riots and theatre scenes.