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wildestrangerI went to see The Eagle for the second time last night. It was even more enjoyable this time, as I was less distracted by trying to pour (and hide) the mead that ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
liseuse and I had snuck into the cinema (we had a drinking game - take a sip every time there was anything homoerotic on the screen. We finished the bottle. *g*).
My short review is: Go see this film. This film is relevant to our interests.
My longer review is - well, I just had all these feelings. Not unlike Marcus.
I actually kind of enjoyed the plot, by which I mean that I wasn't actively bored, and this is fairly impressive for a Hollywood film. Even more remarkably, I rather liked Marcus. And not only because he's not as much an idiot as he could be, but also because he doesn't exhibit the kind of entitlement one often finds in Heroic Men with Serious Manpain. There is humility and a kind of despair in his enactment of his role as centurion, and I like that he is both competent and keen to do his job well. Also, there's the scene where he is mostly naked and lounging on furs, and you get several fine shots of his beauteous musculature (although I admit to being distracted by thoughts of hmm, I wonder if I could get a six pack. It might be more work than I can be bothered to do. And I'd probably have to give up wine. Hmm, pretty Marcus. Yeah, I probably would, even though he's not Tom Hardy.) But what I like best is that he basically wants to do whatever Esca tells him to do. ;)
And Esca, well, hasn't Jamie Bell grown up lovely? I love that most of his acting is half-smirks and barely visible sarcastic eyebrows, and a lot of furious gazing deep into Marcus's eyes. I love that this film is shameless about their man love. And that we see Jamie Bell shirtless and in trousers threatening to slip off at any minute, with loving attention paid to his shapely form and delightful tattoos. This is now my desktop image. &hearts
I also liked the fact that the film makers wanted to use Pictish language and were bothered to discover that it doesn't exist anymore (I'm afraid I don't remember where I read that, but there was definitely and interview. Or something.), and used native speakers of (Goidelic) Gaelic instead (this is also how I lost several hours to Wikipedia, looking up ancient Europeans languages which don't exist anymore but which I'd like to learn anyway. Yay Etruscan!). I was amused (and vocally so, to the occasional annoyance of my viewing buddies) about the parts of southern England which they clearly filmed somewhere a lot warmer. There were several moments of "This is not England! It's never that warm! Where is it that sunny?"
I liked the use of American English for pan-Roman Latin, as both an intelligible analogy to the range of regional accents one was likely to find in a legion and as a not terribly subtle criticism of the Evils of (American) Imperialism. I enjoyed Esca's delightfully passive-aggressive retorts to Marcus's glorification of Rome, and the development of their relationship through such subtle sniping, and of course the eye-fucking, and the manly grappling. and the fact that Marcus spends most of film pining. I approve of his pining. And also of his inclination to follow Esca's orders, despite their respective positions.
I wasn't too keen on how it was apparently necessary to emphasise the evilness of the Seal People by showing them killing their own children. And there were several moments where I had to hide under my hands because of the motts (the scene where Marcus saves Esca's life on the arena. I'm surprised Uncle Aquila didn't die from embarrassment, or at least pretend not to know him). But apart from a few moments, there was much to enjoy in the film. You should go see it so you to can cackle at their soulful staring into each other's eyes. And Esca's smirks. And Marcus's muscles. And how they basically ride to the sunset together in the end. :D :D :D
liseuse and I had snuck into the cinema (we had a drinking game - take a sip every time there was anything homoerotic on the screen. We finished the bottle. *g*).My short review is: Go see this film. This film is relevant to our interests.
My longer review is - well, I just had all these feelings. Not unlike Marcus.
I actually kind of enjoyed the plot, by which I mean that I wasn't actively bored, and this is fairly impressive for a Hollywood film. Even more remarkably, I rather liked Marcus. And not only because he's not as much an idiot as he could be, but also because he doesn't exhibit the kind of entitlement one often finds in Heroic Men with Serious Manpain. There is humility and a kind of despair in his enactment of his role as centurion, and I like that he is both competent and keen to do his job well. Also, there's the scene where he is mostly naked and lounging on furs, and you get several fine shots of his beauteous musculature (although I admit to being distracted by thoughts of hmm, I wonder if I could get a six pack. It might be more work than I can be bothered to do. And I'd probably have to give up wine. Hmm, pretty Marcus. Yeah, I probably would, even though he's not Tom Hardy.) But what I like best is that he basically wants to do whatever Esca tells him to do. ;)
And Esca, well, hasn't Jamie Bell grown up lovely? I love that most of his acting is half-smirks and barely visible sarcastic eyebrows, and a lot of furious gazing deep into Marcus's eyes. I love that this film is shameless about their man love. And that we see Jamie Bell shirtless and in trousers threatening to slip off at any minute, with loving attention paid to his shapely form and delightful tattoos. This is now my desktop image. &hearts
I also liked the fact that the film makers wanted to use Pictish language and were bothered to discover that it doesn't exist anymore (I'm afraid I don't remember where I read that, but there was definitely and interview. Or something.), and used native speakers of (Goidelic) Gaelic instead (this is also how I lost several hours to Wikipedia, looking up ancient Europeans languages which don't exist anymore but which I'd like to learn anyway. Yay Etruscan!). I was amused (and vocally so, to the occasional annoyance of my viewing buddies) about the parts of southern England which they clearly filmed somewhere a lot warmer. There were several moments of "This is not England! It's never that warm! Where is it that sunny?"
I liked the use of American English for pan-Roman Latin, as both an intelligible analogy to the range of regional accents one was likely to find in a legion and as a not terribly subtle criticism of the Evils of (American) Imperialism. I enjoyed Esca's delightfully passive-aggressive retorts to Marcus's glorification of Rome, and the development of their relationship through such subtle sniping, and of course the eye-fucking, and the manly grappling. and the fact that Marcus spends most of film pining. I approve of his pining. And also of his inclination to follow Esca's orders, despite their respective positions.
I wasn't too keen on how it was apparently necessary to emphasise the evilness of the Seal People by showing them killing their own children. And there were several moments where I had to hide under my hands because of the motts (the scene where Marcus saves Esca's life on the arena. I'm surprised Uncle Aquila didn't die from embarrassment, or at least pretend not to know him). But apart from a few moments, there was much to enjoy in the film. You should go see it so you to can cackle at their soulful staring into each other's eyes. And Esca's smirks. And Marcus's muscles. And how they basically ride to the sunset together in the end. :D :D :D
