Cast: Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Morgan Freeman, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Ben-Hur could have been an important film, but it chose to be more entertaining, and the trouble is, it tried to be both. While the film has several merits when it comes to presentation, it feels a little disorganised in parts. It is a period drama that is mostly in tight frames and overwhelmingly beautiful shots. Timur Bekmambetov has taken a lot of pains in directing the wonderful racing sequences and he pulls it off almost without a sweat. Oliver Wood’s cinematography is excellent — well lit and full of details. There isn’t much adrenaline rush and clearly the film does not want the audience to participate, but simply observe. There is no taking sides, no guilt trip or misunderstanding. To present the characters in total honesty is indeed an achievement for Bekmambetov and deserves credit.
Ben-Hur suffers from the desire to say too much, it is a little taxing on the characters too. It makes an attempt to get close to life by giving the audience a sense of time, but individually the actors seem to fail on that front. The incredible sequence of Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston) being taken as a slave shackled and made to turn the oars of the Roman ship, which ultimately gets destroyed, thereby giving him freedom. The other sequences seem to have been shot in the same month, we don’t see any effect of ageing on the other actors, including Toby Kebbell who fought battles for the Romans, enslaved his own people. Messala (Toby Kebbell) simply gains a scar, but does not seem to age even by a year in the whole story.
It is a poignant tale of choices, situations and consequences, and it does not point a finger to anyone. The ease with which it removes itself from playing the blame game is simply incredible. Although this is a film about forgiveness, it is terrifying that the Morgan Freeman voice has to specify that towards the end of the movie. It is in those parts where it begins to feel weak, when it assumes that the audience is stupid enough to begin thinking about the reason why Judah had no children after years of marriage? Or why Messala never got together with anyone else after having betrayed his love, Judah’s sister? Why there is a distinct sense of camaraderie and affection between Judah and Messala? Why they had to give this one an ending different from the 1959 film? These and many more enquiries, but the Morgan Freeman voice simply silences them all with a clichéd message about peace and forgiveness.
The only overpowering claim in the movie is that of the Roman emperor, who indicates to Morgan Freeman that even though Messala lost the race, the victory was his as everyone, including the Jews, want nothing but blood, vengeance and violence. It is a wise message that is concealed and yet revealed. But the fact that the emperor has to spell it out for Sheik Ilderim (Morgan Freeman) dissolves the impact that it could have created later. Judah Ben-Hur is a classic tale that will live on for centuries, a story that is not quite the tragedy that it could have been. A story that is interestingly rooted in higher philosophical ideas but does not find quite the resonance that it deserves. This interpretation of the classic is simply a good watch, a visually stunning presentation of a mythical tale.
The writer is founder, Lightcube Film Society
