I know next to nothing about the Joan of Arc story, but I've liked Luc Besson's work, and the trailer was terrific, so I was looking forward to this movie, even after the bad reviews. As might be expected from a Besson film, it looked incredible. The battle scenes were all well-handled, and as the warrior Joan, Jovovich was quite convincing. The rest of the movie was something else again.
It seems to me Besson and his co-writer, Andrew Birkin, were trying to do what Kenneth Branagh did in his version of HAMLET; look at the lead character not as an icon, but as a normal human being, and try to explain their actions and behavior in that context. Admittedly, since I am unfamiliar with this story, I am more receptive to this approach than those who hold Joan as an icon, but I would have been more than willing to watch a movie which handled this material well. Unfortunately, once Besson established which way he wanted to go, he seemed unsure of how to get there. Most of the drama is handled on a third-grade level(especially her trial), and we never really get into what made Joan tick. Though the scenes with Dustin Hoffman were involving, especially since he was so good, they too fell short in explaining Joan. And Jovovich can't quite access those depths yet.
The rest of the cast is okay. Malkovich and Faye Dunaway are playing types, but they play them well enough. Tchecky Kayro(I know I'm not spelling that right) and Vincent Cassel lend a sense of gravity to their roles as soldiers. But all in all, this is a movie whose reach was beyond its grasp.
It seems to me Besson and his co-writer, Andrew Birkin, were trying to do what Kenneth Branagh did in his version of HAMLET; look at the lead character not as an icon, but as a normal human being, and try to explain their actions and behavior in that context. Admittedly, since I am unfamiliar with this story, I am more receptive to this approach than those who hold Joan as an icon, but I would have been more than willing to watch a movie which handled this material well. Unfortunately, once Besson established which way he wanted to go, he seemed unsure of how to get there. Most of the drama is handled on a third-grade level(especially her trial), and we never really get into what made Joan tick. Though the scenes with Dustin Hoffman were involving, especially since he was so good, they too fell short in explaining Joan. And Jovovich can't quite access those depths yet.
The rest of the cast is okay. Malkovich and Faye Dunaway are playing types, but they play them well enough. Tchecky Kayro(I know I'm not spelling that right) and Vincent Cassel lend a sense of gravity to their roles as soldiers. But all in all, this is a movie whose reach was beyond its grasp.